Tucson aid workers plan to sue after they claim federal agents pointed guns at them near the Arizona-Mexico border earlier this year.
NOGALES, AZ (AZFamily) — Tucson humanitarian aid workers are pursuing legal action after they say federal agents pointed guns at them while they were delivering aid near the Arizona-Mexico border earlier this year.
Gail Kocourek, a longtime volunteer with the Tucson Samaritans, said she and another aid worker were on a routine aid run in March when armed men chased them in an unmarked vehicle near Sasabe, which is northwest of Nogales. They said the men wore no uniforms and did not initially identify themselves as law enforcement.
Believing they were being approached by border vigilantes, a common sight in the borderlands, the volunteers tried to avoid them and instead approached a nearby Border Patrol agent for help. That agent informed them that the armed men were not vigilantes and were Homeland Security Investigations officers.
According to the federal claim filed by the aid workers, the HSI agents then pointed rifles at them, ordered them out of their vehicle, handcuffed them, and detained them for about 30 minutes before releasing them without explanation or charges.
“They have a civil right to be moving on their way and not be stopped without cause and have guns pointed at them,” said Arizona civil rights attorney Paul Gattone, who is representing both volunteers.
Gattone has filed a federal claim, a precursor to a potential lawsuit, alleging the volunteers were stopped unlawfully while performing legal aid work in a region where their group is widely known. The claim accuses the agents of assault, false arrest, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
His clients are seeking $500,000 in compensation, though Gattone said the issue goes beyond money.
“This is a disturbing pattern we’re seeing across the country. It is unacceptable. This is not how law enforcement is supposed to act in a democratic system. We’re hoping to bring attention to it and get accountability,” he said.
Gattone said they were on a public-access road and driving a marked vehicle identifying them as humanitarian volunteers.
Arizona’s Family has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to ask why the agents involved were not in uniform. As of publication, DHS has not responded to the request for comment.