Autopsy: Border Patrol agent fired gun 10 times

Valeria Munique Alvarado is seen in this undated picture. / KFMB-TV

SAN DIEGO A Border Patrol agent in Southern California who shot and killed a mother of five after she hit him with her vehicle fired his gun 10 times from the hood of her car as he tried to get the woman to stop, according to an autopsy report released Thursday.

Valeria "Munique" Tachiquin Alvarado, 32, suffered 14 gunshot wounds to her upper body, the San Diego County Medical Examiner said. Some bullets may have caused more than one wound.

The autopsy determined the Sept. 28 death was a homicide and lists multiple gunshot wounds as the cause.

Alvarado fled a friend's apartment in Chula Vista when agents came with an arrest warrant for someone else, according to the autopsy, mirroring previous statements from police. Police say her car struck an agent and she drove with him on the hood for about 200 yards.

The agent held on to the Alvarado's 1994 Honda Accord after breaking the windshield, firing his pistol until she stopped, the autopsy says.

Alvarado's blood tested positive for methamphetamine at 0.1 milligram per liter.

• Cops: Woman killed by border agent hit him with car

Alvarado's family has filed a wrongful death claim against the Border Patrol, saying the agent who fired had a long history of misconduct in a previous law enforcement job and should not have been on the street. Documents released by family attorney Eugene Iredale say the agent, 34-year-old Justin Tackett, was suspended four times for misconduct including crashing a patrol car and violating suspects' rights in the nearly four years that he worked as an Imperial County sheriff's deputy.

A Border Patrol official said on the day of the shooting that the agent feared for his life. The National Border Patrol Council, the union representing agents, has said it is confident he acted properly.

The Border Patrol has been involved in a series of deadly shootings along the U.S. border with Mexico, and the Homeland Security Department's inspector general is reviewing the agency's policies on use of lethal force. The ACLU Regional Center for Border Rights says agents have killed at least 18 people since 2010.

[dronemonk]

A young mother flees in terror and gets 14 bullet holes put in her body. That's sad. That so many hard hearted people show up here to cheer her accidental death? That's just tragic. The moral shortcomings of the citizenry of this nation are so severe. We may never get right again.

[Louie_K1]

Only 10 shots were fired ?? Hmmmmmmm ! I would hope that U S Federal Agent can carry weapons with a maximum capacity of 15 bullets. Oh, plus one in the chamber. Mine does. Lock & Load Baby

[borismcchesny]

Praise for the cops who protect us from this scourge.

[david_saint01]

pft, yeah, so glad to know there are agents on the border that were fired from jobs as cops because of their malfeasance and abusing authority...said no one ever

[GySgt90]

I don't know about California law but in the other 49 states (not 52 like Obama thinks) it is legal for an officer to defend themselves if there is a danger that their life is being threatened and they have fear for their life. But with California maybe they require a Barany Fief weapon check with an empty weapon in the holster and one round in your pocket. Anything is possible in California. Especially when it comes to the safety of a possible illegal Mexican or a suspect from south of the border.

[Xbeing]

He's a Federal Agent, and yes.. the fact she had meth in her system, not to mention that she drove over 200 yards with him on the hood (even after he shot out the windshield).

Not much to argue against, glad to take any one of those ACLU lawyers for a ride on the hood, see if they get afraid.

[Jacques34645]

Actually Obama said 57.

[rocketjl]

Good grief, I think it is pretty clear that the lady committed suicde.

[THALES457]

CBS: SUGGEST YOU DO NOT SKIM THE SURFACE AND THEN MOVE ON. SUGGEST YOU FOLLOW THIS STORY AS REPORTERS USED TO DO PRIOR TO HIT-AND-RUN JOURNALISM.

[Ulgnud]

Assuming the story is reporting all the facts, this drugged up woman strikes and drives off with a law enforcement officer on the hood of her car. So he shot at her till she stopped. So What? Seems to me he acted quite properly while she was endangering his life. And don't expect sympathy from me for this woman, no matter how pretty the picture makes her look, or how many kids she had. Her choice of action created her problem. Running suddenly from the cops always brings trouble on yourself. They may not have known at the time if she was the one they were after. If she was an illegal invader she should have been arrested and deported before this happened. I hope they do not end up with some cretin liberal judge who hammers the Border Patrol.

[Jacques34645]

I agree totally. Don't see why this is an issue. The agent was doing the job he was sworn in to do, unless there are some yet-undisclosed facts that change the situation. If this were some crazed black guy in the streets of Chicago or Oakland no one would look twice.

[ttipbc]

Doesn't matter how good-looking she was or how many children she had - did that give her free license to run down an agent with her car? He11 no! Why was the coroner allowed to label her death a homicide? It should have been listed as due to gunshot wounds only, then it would be up to law enforcement to decide if it warranted homicide charges. She was hopped up on methamphetamine & she obviously made some bad choices that resulted in her death. I hope the court system realizes her opportunistic family for what they are & throws out this frivolous lawsuit.

[Xbeing]

The label "homicide" just means that others actions, it's the simple title, not the listed cause of death. Regardless how they died, anytime death is caused by someone else, it's classified as such.

It also does not separate justified versus non-justified or criminal homicide.

And not to be confused with murder (which is always unjustified homicide).

[Jonseen]

She hit a cop with her car... why is there so much support for this woman? If a cop asks you to STOP, then you're supposed to STOP.

[dreamspan]

This was absolutely unnecessary. I want to know where was this fool was standing that caused him to get struck by the vehicle. The article does not say he was attempting to stop the vehicle for any infraction or crime. Like a lot of LEOs have done and continue to do, this fool must have stood in the way of a moving vehicle with no valid reason to stop it, then opened fire claiming the vehicle struck him or attempted to run him over. The article doesn't even mention how fast the vehicle was moving nor what injuries this idiot sustained. Stupid rogue idiots like this one must be tried and sent to jail. Common sense is if a vehicle is driving in your direction, get the heck out of the way! There are more ways to detain a suspect than taking their life.

[lillyhorton]

Does any of that really matter. A law enforcement agent tells someone to stop, that driver should have stopped. Do you stop when an officer puts his lights on for you to pull over or do you continue to drive? Were they aware this officer had a bad past at the time of the incident or did they find out afterwards? The officer responded to this incident correctly.

[Xbeing]

Dreamspan.. trying actually reading, officers were serving a Warrant at an address and she was attempting to flee the scene.

How fast would it be going for only 10 shots to be fired in 200 yards (that's the length of 2 football fields or 600 feet).

Ten shots can be popped off in a matter of seconds. And I am pretty sure nobody was there with a radar gun. Obviously she was going fast enough to knock him on the hood when she hit him, and not slow enough for him to not hop off and take a few shots at the side windows (which are easier to shoot out than the tempered glass windshield).