KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper stationed in Kaufman County has sued the Mexican police and government; alleging the officers intentionally shot him and a Customs and Border Protection agent during a gunfight with drug smugglers while he was stationed at the Texas-Mexico border in late 2016.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper stationed in Kaufman County has sued the Mexican police and government; alleging the officers intentionally shot him and a Customs and Border Protection agent during a gunfight with drug smugglers while he was stationed at the Texas-Mexico border in late 2016.
The lawsuit was filed on November 21, 2018 in the Southern District of Texas by activist lawyer Larry Klayman, a former U.S. Justice Department prosecutor, and the founder of Judicial Watch.
Trooper Danny Shaw, of Forney, and his wife, Melissa, are seeking more than $120 million in damages, punitive and economic, and collectively sued The United Mexican States, The Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, and the Tamaulipas State Police of Mexico.
The lawsuit alleges the shooting was "malicious and intentional" and the result of "Mexico's anti-American" policies and sentiments by Mexican officials.
On November 25, 2016, around noon, the Tamaulipas State Police and three suspected Mexican cartel drug smugglers were involved in a gunfight across the Rio Grande River in Fronton, Texas, in Starr County.
During the gunfight, according to the complaint obtained by inForney.com, the three suspected drug smugglers crossed to the U.S. side of the Rio Grande River.
"A U.S. helicopter in the area established communications with Mexican law enforcement, notifying Mexican police of the United States' presence during the altercation," states the complaint.
"While Shaw was covering two U.S. Border Patrol agents, a Border Patrol K9 alerted them to the presence of unidentified Mexican law enforcement officer across the river," continued the complaint. "At that point, a barrage of gunfire rained down upon Shaw from the direction of the Mexican Officers.
Shaw was struck in the abdomen and transported to a nearby hospital. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent was struck in the chest in his protective vest.
"Test results showed that [Shaw's] sciatic nerve was damaged by the bullet, causing paralysis and severe nerve pain," according to the complaint. "Shaw is currently in a full brace, in daily physical pain, and has no feeling in his right leg below the knee."
The complaint alleges anti-American policies and sentiments by Mexican officials led to the shooting, citing several news articles which depict strained relations between the two countries.
The United States and Mexico "have suffered strained relations since the election of President Donald Trump, particularly in light of his decision to build a wall to protect the United States from illegal immigration and drug smuggling," states the complaint.
The complaint goes on to highlight several incidents and events which may have "incited violence in retaliation to Trump's policies," including; then-Mexican President Vicente Fox Quesada's and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's strained relationships with Trump; anti-Trump platforms taken by Mexican politicians; Nieto comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, and many of Fox's and Nieto's critical statements and comments about Trump.
The complaint alleges these incidents "culminated in an attempt to kill a Texas Ranger to send a message of hostility to the United States."