Chairman Thompson Seeks Information Regarding Death of Border Patrol Agent in New Mexico
(WASHINGTON) – Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding the circumstances of the death of Border Patrol Agent Johan Mordan in New Mexico in June. Tragically, according to CBP, Border Patrol agents lost communications with Agent Mordan prior to his death and he was eventually found unresponsive lying on a trail, unable to be revived. The Committee is seeking specific information on Agent Mordan’s duty assignment, any medical care he received, as well as any emergency air support sent to assist him.
This is the second letter the Committee has sent to CBP requesting documents on the death of Agent Mordan. In July, the Committee sent CBP a request for basic documents about the facts and circumstances surrounding the Agent’s death and the agency’s review of the death. However, continuing its unprecedented practice of impeding Committee oversight, CBP failed to provide most of the documents requested by the Committee. Additionally, CBP indiscriminately and unjustifiably applied the “Law Enforcement Sensitive” label to the few documents it did provide, needlessly restricting Congressional oversight.
The Committee also seeks to understand the extent to which the review of Agent Mordan’s death by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has relied on any unverified information provided by other CBP units, as well as whether OPR has undertaken any type of review of what appear to be disturbing trends regarding emergency incidents affecting the health of Border Patrol agents.
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Adam Comis at (202) 225-9978
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