http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jun/03/mans-death-at-border-brings-protest/Man's death at border brings protestBy Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 6:48 p.m.
Several dozen people chanting “justicia” marched at the San Ysidro border crossing Thursday to protest the death of Anastasio Hernandez, a Mexican citizen who died after a scuffle with U.S. border agents.
As evening rush-hour commuters streamed past, the protesters gathered at the southbound pedestrian crossing, just yards from where the incident took place.
“We’re touched by the story, the fact that this man was in the United States for so long,” said Donna Havrilak, who drove down from Fallbrook. “He was treated inhumanely.”
The protest was organized by the Raza Rights Coalition and the American Friends Service Committee. Hernandez, 42, was a longtime resident of Encanto who died after being shot with a Taser gun by a federal officer.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office listed methamphetamine abuse, high blood pressure and the physical altercation with officers as factors that contributed to Hernandez’s death.
Hernandez had lived illegally in the United States since entering the country as a teenager. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the San Diego Police Department are investigating the Friday night incident.
According to San Diego police, Hernandez was being returned to Mexico when he started fighting with Border Patrol agents. Hernandez had a heart attack and stopped breathing shortly after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent shot him with a Taser.
