Over the past decade, Customs and Border Protection has had an acute excessive use of force problem, without any accountability to date. Last month, however, the agency did something worthy of praise. It announced a new award designed to recognize CBP personnel, including Border Patrol agents, who deescalate an encounter that might otherwise have led to deadly force: the “Use of Deadly Force Encounter Averted Award.”
In response, the National Border Patrol Council, a union representing some 17,000 Border Patrol agents and support personnel, immediately criticized the award. Union leaders argued it reflects a “type of thinking [that] will get Border Patrol agents killed. If that happens we will hold the creators of this award accountable. This is despicable.”