El PASO -- Border Patrol showed up at a quiet home on a fall morning just after dawn looking for undocumented immigrants. Instead, an agent shot and killed the family dog.
More than two months after the shooting the homeowner, 26, is waiting for answers and demanding accountability for what happened September 9th, shortly after 7 a.m. in El Paso's tree-lined Upper Valley.
The dog's owner does not want his name used for privacy reasons. His attorney said he was cooperative when agents arrived and told him they were investigating a tip regarding "alien smuggling at the residence," something the homeowner denied.
"He told agents they could come in, " said Marisa Ong, the family's attorney, who works with the national law firm, Singleton Schreiber. But first, the homeowner said he would put his dog Chop in a bathroom according to Ong.
"He showed them the exact bathroom he was in. And he told them if they wanted to search that bathroom to let him know and he would move Chop," Ong said.
Though his owner had secured Chop inside a bathroom, the dog was released by a Border Patrol agent and shot from a distance of about 18 feet, Ong told KTEP News.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed in a statement that on September 9th "a U.S. Border Patrol agent was involved in a use of force incident in El Paso, Texas …. The incident involved a canine."
The use of force is currently under review by CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility in accordance with CBP policies according to the statement that read in part: "CBP takes such incidents seriously."
The incident shows that it's not just migrants and children, but also family pets caught up in the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement effort in cities across the country, from Los Angeles, Chicago to San Antonio and Charlotte.
The killing of Chop, the dog, led to a national outcry on social media platforms filled with videos of agents tackling people on city streets, breaking car windows, and arresting immigrants at businesses. The scenes have become common as the Trump administration tries to carry out mass deportations. Use of force incidents by federal agents spiked this summer but then started to decline according data from CBP.
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas sent a letter to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner and the Border Patrol Chief on November 18th requesting an update on the investigation into the lethal use of force at a private residence in El Paso.
"This incident is inexcusable," Escobar wrote. "A family lost their beloved dog to the actions of a Border Patrol officer, and we are still unaware of what, if anything, the agency is doing to rectify the situation or prevent a similar one from happening again."
The incident began when agents knocked on the man's door. The owner was cooperative and told the agents they could come inside the home after he confined Chop, the family's seven-year-old Rottweiler in a bathroom and he showed them the exact bathroom, according to his attorney.
The agents asked the homeowner to step outside. He agreed and went to his truck parked in the driveway to get his identification. Right then, he heard a gunshot, Ong said.
When the man rushed back into his home, agents tried to restrain him, according to Ong.
"He saw the agent that had entered the house. He had his gun drawn. He pointed his gun at my client. And then he saw his dog Chop laying on the floor yelping in pain." Ong said.
Chop bled to death.
By all accounts the Rottweiler had been an "extremely friendly" dog according to Ong.
Border Patrol did not find any evidence of illegal activity at the home.
Ong said the family is fully cooperating with the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility investigation as it waits for answers.
Among their questions: Why did the lone Border Patrol agent enter the residence?
"It's extremely against protocol for an agent to go by himself into a home," said Ong, a former prosecutor who previously worked on behalf of the federal government.
"It creates a safety risk for the officer. It creates a safety risk for anyone on scene," she said.
Additionally, the family wants to know why the agent opened the door to the bathroom, after the homeowner said dog was secured inside.
And then there's a question about when the Border Patrol agent fired his weapon. "The bullet hole where Chop was shot is approximately 18 feet away from the bathroom," Ong said.
"If Chop had lunged at the agent in any type of way or had been aggressive you would assume the agent would have shot him right there at the bathroom."
Ong filed an SF-95 form on behalf of her client as required for a claim of damage, injury, or death caused by a federal employee. Additionally, the family wants El Paso's District Attorney to pursue animal cruelty charges. The DA's office said it does not comment on pending cases.
Since Chop's killing, the young homeowner has not been able to set foot in the house he was renovating with his father according to Ong.
"He's extremely distraught. Chop was his best friend," she said.
"It's just our hope that there will be transparency both about what happened and accountability, so this never happens to another family again."
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