Law Enforcement–Perpetrated Homicides

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Tom Barker. Law Enforcement–Perpetrated Homicides

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Law Enforcement—Perpetrated Homicides

in the Twenty-First Century

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Captain Fox and Company B composed of eight rangers, four local ranchers accompanied by members of the U.S. Eighth Calvary who had been ordered to assist the Texas Rangers in searching for weapons rode into Porvenir at 2:00 a.m. The soldiers woke the residents and had them stand outside their residences. The soldiers who regularly patrolled the area were known and trusted by the residents. The soldiers assured the frightened residents that the hated and feared Texas Rangers would not harm them. Captain Fox dismissed the soldiers, and the Texas Rangers took control of the terrified residents and moved them to a nearby bluff.

According to later eyewitness testimony, the Rangers tied all the men and boys together and began shooting them (Harris & Sadler, 2004; Martinez, 2018). Soldiers heard the shots and the screaming women and rushed to the massacre scene. The soldiers found fifteen bodies, each with multiple wounds and a coup de grace headshot. One of the soldiers said the massacre scene reminded him of a slaughterhouse (Martinez, 2018: 123). He added, “A hospital corpsman who was with us went over to the bodies, but not a breath was left in a single one. The professionals had done their work well.” The resulting investigation concluded that the fifteen Mexicans killed by the Rangers and the ranchers had been disarmed and were helpless prisoners when they were executed (Harris & Sadler, 2004: 354).

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