Transcripts reveal Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino's heated deposition on agents' use of force
Newly released transcripts of the deposition given by Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino revealed repeatedly heated exchanges with attorneys for a group of local protesters and journalists who have accused agents under his command of using excessive force.
Bovino was questioned over the course of three days in a deposition as part of a lawsuit filed over agents' aggressive tactics during the ongoing immigration enforcement operation in the Chicago area, and transcripts of that deposition showed it was tense right out of the gate.
Trump administration attorneys chastised the plaintiff's lawyers at the start of the proceedings for not shaking Bovino's hand.
Both sides repeatedly accused the other of showing a lack of respect.
The transcript from the first day of Bovino's deposition shows inconsistencies and roadblocks, technicalities and tension on a palpably morning on Oct. 30 at the Dirksen federal courthouse.
Bovino was repeatedly asked about an Oct. 23 confrontation with protesters in Little Village, during which Bovino was seen throwing tear gas above the heads of the crowd without warning.
"If I were to say -- to ask you a question, did you throw a canister of CS gas in this particular location on this particular day, you would tell me yes to that question too?" he was asked.
"I would not," Bovino said
"Okay. Why not?" he was asked.
"You said canister. I threw two. That's -- that's plural," Bovino said.
Bovino had previously justified the move saying he'd been hit in the head with a rock, but then changed his story.
"At the point when you threw this canister, you had not been hit in the head with a rock?" attorneys asked Bovino.
"I had received a projectile, a rock, but it did not hit me in the head. But it did almost hit me," Bovino said.
"Okay, so it did -- it missed you; it didn't hit you?" he was asked
"Thats correct," Bovino said.
Later, a judge said that testimony was proof of a Bovino lie, which led to a temporary tightening of rules for federal immigration agents' use of force in Chicago.
At the deposition, attention shifted to a similar incident here in the Old Irving Park neighborhood, where tear gas was deployed as kids were gathering to join a Halloween parade.
"I believe they were justified if that happened," Bovino said of agents under his command.
"On what basis do you form that belief?" plaintiffs' attorneys asked.
"I have seen nothing to indicate a reason otherwise," Bovino said.
"Have you reviewed video of the incident?" he was asked.
"No," Bovino said.
"Have you asked to review the body camera of the involved officers?" he was asked.
"No," Bovino said.
"Have you reviewed any reports related to the incident?" he was asked.
"I can't remember," Bovino said.
"Have you spoken with any of the officers about their actions?" he was asked.
"Not to my knowledge," Bovino said.
"Okay, and yet you maintain that their actions were justified?" he was asked.
"I've not seen any evidence to indicate that any deployment of less lethal was not exemplary or more than exemplary," Bovino said.
That deposition led to U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis restricting agents' use of tear gas, pepper-balls and physical force. Her order has since been paused by a federal appeals court, and Bovino has since moved his focus to Charlotte.
Members of Congress who fund the Department of Homeland Security said they expect a ramp-up of agents in Chicago come January, saying the funding and intent is there to increase immigration enforcement in the new year.