Video of the incident was first shared by Texas Republican Rep. Mayra Flores.
It shows agents attempting to arrest a man who is said to be a “suspected smuggler” near Imperial Beach in California which is right on the US-Mexican border.
The Washington Examiner reports:
“A U.S. Customs and Border Protection statement to the Washington Examiner said the incident happened around 5:10 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21, when migrants entered the United States illegally by "swimming around the International Boundary Maritime primary fencing."
"As agents attempted to take both migrants into custody, the migrants actively resisted and assaulted the agents," CBP said in a statement Tuesday. "During the confrontation, the agents deployed less lethal devices. One unaccompanied juvenile Mexican national, age 17, and one adult Mexican national, age 20, were taken into custody and transported to a nearby station for processing."
The video shows one man pinned down by an agent in the sand as another man verbally taunted a second agent and repeatedly tried to rush at the federal law enforcement official. In the background, a crowd that gathered in Tijuana, Mexico, directly behind the border wall cheered loudly, though it is unclear who they were yelling for.
The agent in the one-on-one altercation used a police baton to keep the second suspect at a distance and swung it when the suspect attempted to lunge at him. Within one minute, two other agents arrived on the scene. One ran over to the two fighting, and the other tackled the assailant from behind, according to the video footage.
CBP said earlier Tuesday there was an "ongoing investigation" of the altercation. The official made no mention of whether the individuals were suspected smugglers.”
What are the rules of engagement for these border agents because they are showing an awful lot of restraint with a violent and potentially dangerous individual.