SAN DIEGO—
A man who U.S. authorities shot with a stun gun at a San Diego border crossing is brain dead but remains on life support, according to a published report.Anastasio Hernandez, 42, has been in a San Diego hospital since he stopped breathing Friday night after struggling with border agents at the San Ysidro port of entry, according to KPBS.
The Mexican consulate in San Diego said in a statement Saturday night that agents from the Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection agencies appear to have used excessive force in the confrontation. It said it was trying to establish contact with the Mexican man's family.
Border Patrol agents arrested Hernandez and his brother on Otay Mountain Friday evening on suspicion of entering the United States illegally. Agents brought the men to the San Ysidro station for processing.
The man's family told KPBS that he had been deported a few days earlier and was trying to get back to his wife and five children in Encanto, where he had lived since he crossed the border illegally to work 26 years ago.
The Hernandez signed paperwork accepting his voluntary return to Mexico and his brother was to be returned at a later time, Collins said.
At the Border Patrol station gate leading to Mexico, agents removed Hernandez's handcuffs and he became violent, Collins said.
"The agents and the subject all fell to the ground during the fight and the agents radioed for assistance,'' Collins said in a prepared statement. He said Customs and Border Protection agents joined the struggle and one CBP agent fired a Taser at the man to subdue him.
A short time later, Collins said, the man stopped breathing. Agents began CPR and called paramedics. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
"It became clear (Saturday) that the man is not expected to survive, so that's why we were called in,'' Collins, of the homicide unit, said in a telephone interview. "A lot of people get Tasered with no real ill effects. He could have had a pre-existing medical condition.''
It is routine for the San Diego homicide squad to investigate shootings or deaths involving any law enforcement personnel within the city.
The names of the agents involved were withheld.
