LF: Shocking moment 25-year-old man burned to death when border patrol Tasered him and his car burst into flames

Title: Shocking moment 25-year-old man burned to death when border patrol Tasered him and his car burst into flames
Source: Daily Mail Online
URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art ... ped-border-patrol-Tasered.html
Published: Apr 1, 2015
Author: Daily Mail Reporter
Post Date: 2015-04-01 09:07:34 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 1902
Comments: 4

The family of a 25-year-old man who died in a car fire in California is now suing the US federal government, claiming a Taser shot by Border Control agents caused the car to explode.

Horrific footage from the dashcam of the agents' car is being used as evidence in the lawsuit and has now emerged online, showing the moment the vehicle blew out and how the officers, despite being armed with fire extinguishers, fled the scene.

The video shows plain-clothed agents running up to the car and smashing the passenger-side window with a flashlight - without engaging the driver - and then firing a Taser inside.

Unexpectedly, the car blows up, likely due to a gas canister inside the car, propelling the agents back and burning to death the driver, Alex Martin, according to NBC 7 San Diego.

Shockingly, the video shows the agents fleeing the scene and leaving Martin to burn to death inside.

Scene: The newly-surface dashcam footage shows an agent smashing the car window and then pulling out his Taser gun

Fire: This is the moment the shot from the Taser ignites the interior of the car

Explosion: The Taser shot caused the car to explode, throwing the agents back. The driver, Alex Martin, was stuck inside the vehicle as it burned

Boom: Following the explosion, the officers were propelled backwards. Rather than try to save Martin, they fled the scene

Wreck: The dashcam footage shows the car being left to burn with Martin inside, while the officers drove off

Leaving: This is the part in the footage when the Border Patrol agents get in their car and reverse away from the fiery wreck, before driving off

The incident occurred in March 2012, however the disturbing video has only just emerged.

Border Patrol said the video had been recorded over and was gone, however the FBI's forensic division were able to track it down.

Officials say Martin had lead the agents on a high-speed chase in Pine Valley, California, for about three minutes.

They used a spoke strip to deflate his tires, eventually stopping the car.

What follows was all captured on the video.

However an attorney for the Martin family, Gene Iredale, said Martin had been driving for 22 hours back from Texas and was lost.

He said the agents were in unmarked cars, that Martin had no idea they were Border Control and that they failed to identify themselves, and that Martin was frightened.

Victim: Alex Martin, 25, was killed in the car fire and explosion in March 2012. His family are now suing the federal government over his death

'These agents approached in unmarked cars, in plain clothes and never identified themselves by the display of badges or even the simple statement ''Border Patrol'',' the attorney told NBC 7.

Iredale believes a container of gas had spilled in the car, with the Taser subsequently setting the car alight.

He alleges the agent should have smelled the gas fumes wafting out of the car and known not to shoot his Taser.

Gabriel Pacheco, a lead Border Patrol union representative, said that the proper protocols were followed in the chase and stopping Martin's vehicle.

He said the fire posed a high risk to the agents, and that Martin's death could have been avoided if he had just pulled over.

Scene: The incident occurred in Pine Valley, California, in March 2012. Martin's family say he had been driving for 22 hours and was lost en route from Texas

Killed: Alex Martin burned to death in his car following a chase with Border Patrol agents three years ago

However Iredale maintains Martin's death was caused by the carelessness of the officers and their brash behavior.

'This was a senseless act in a senseless way for somebody who had violated no law and who lost their life needlessly,' Iredale said.

The officers involved have not been named.

The federal government are trying to have the case dismissed.