Only in Texas do we have sniping from helicopters

By Bud Kennedy

bud@star-telegram.com

Texas is still the Wild West.

And no more so than during a police chase.

State troopers will shoot at tires. Or a radiator. Anything to stop a fleeing suspect.

Yes, it's risky. But so is the chase. Troopers do what it takes to protect other motorists, pedestrians and themselves.

Basically, that's what happened Oct. 25 in Hidalgo County, the most chase-prone county in Texas.

A Department of Public Safety sniper in a helicopter aimed at the rear tires of a truck headed in the general direction of two rural schools at dismissal time.

Instead, two men hiding in the truck bed were killed.

When lawmakers viewed the video this week in Austin, they heard DPS sniper Miguel Avila's aghast reaction: "Oh, my god."

Jose Leonardo Coj Cumar, 32, and Marcos Antonio Castro Estrada, 29, were from San Martin Jilotepeque, Guatemala.

Seven other passengers, all Guatemalans, and a 14-year-old driver from Mexico survived after the truck crashed into a ditch.

A game warden had tried to check the truck for drugs. None were found.

When reporters asked whether shooting at trucks from a helicopter is a good idea, state Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, had a brusque Texas response:

"It's unfortunate some people died," he said. "But the lesson is, don't be running from the law."

State Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, was concerned about the policy.

"I could easily see why they thought it was a load of drugs," he told The Texas Observer.

"It was a horrible tragedy."

The local McAllen Monitor wants Texas to scrap the pursuit policy, asking: "What if it was just a 14-year-old who decided to take a joyride in Daddy's truck?"

The San Antonio Express-News called for a public hearing and critcized Miller, a loser in the July primary.

"Miller missed the point," the E-N wrote: "When two unarmed passengers in a vehicle are killed, it's the protocol itself that needs to be examined."

The DPS has asked both the FBI and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to look into the case. A Hidalgo County grand jury will review it next year, the district attorney has said.

San Antonio and Rio Grande Valley reporters quoted experts saying that no other police agency in America would allow a sniper to shoot at a fleeing vehicle from a helicopter.

But after all, this is Texas.

Bud Kennedy's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 817-390-7538.

Twitter: @budkennedy

Looking for comments?