US Nationals 'Under Siege' Amid Border Patrol Checkpoint Death Massoud Hayoun - Al Jazerra
go to original December 29, 2013

The San Diego ACLU chapter reported it has seen no substantial evidence to verify that Steven Keith, 58, possessed marijuana or any other drug at time of arrest. (Eric Gay/AP)

Civil liberties advocates told Al Jazeera Sunday that U.S. citizens — like their undocumented counterparts — are "under siege" in what is increasingly becoming a "police state" around the border, after the death of a male U.S. citizen in Border Patrol custody at a checkpoint 20 miles from the border with Mexico.

Steven Keith, 58, died on Dec. 24 in unclear circumstances at a checkpoint facility near the Southern California section of Interstate 8.

During his detention, Keith became "incoherent and unresponsive," authorities said in a report, and paramedics were unable to save him.

Keith's family told local media he had no pre-existing medical conditions that would have explained his sudden death.

"The cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner's office," Paul Carr, U.S. Border Patrol spokesman said in a statement emailed to Al Jazeera. "I don't have a timeline for the results of the full investigation. As per our statement, neutral third parties are conducting that investigation. I can't comment on what other people may or may not have said."

According to Carr, Border Patrol officers stopped Keith "for illegal possession and intent to distribute approximately three pounds of marijuana."

A local branch of human rights advocacy organization the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), currently monitoring the situation, has not found any substantial evidence that Keith was actually in possession of marijuana.

Read the rest at Al Jazerra

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