Our Police Officers Are Paying The Price For An Open Border

Our Police Officers Are Paying The Price For An Open Border
Dave Gibson is a freelance writer living in Norfolk, Va.

June 09, 2008

Despite the false rhetoric spilling from the mouth of our politicians, not every illegal immigrant comes here simply to work. In fact, many of them come here to cause mayhem in our streets. One consequence of illegal immigration is the murder of many U.S. police officers.

The following is a look at a few of those slain officers:

On Sept. 30, 1992, Oregon State Trooper Bret Clodfelter (age 34) stopped a suspected drunk driver who turned out to be an illegal alien named Francisco Manzo-Hernandez. The drunken driver was traveling with two of his fellow invaders. Trooper Clodfelter handcuffed the driver and placed him in the back seat of his cruiser.

As all of the men were drunk, the state trooper offered to drive the two passengers home. For his kindness, Clodfelter was shot in the head four times. All three fled the scene and were captured a few days later.

Trooper Clodfelter served with the Oregon State Police for eight years and left behind a wife, son, and daughter. A further tragedy took place a year after the trooper's murder, when his wife Rene, took her own life.

On March 26, 1999, Phoenix Police Officer Marc Atkinson (age 28) was shot and killed by illegal alien Felipe Petrona-Cabana. Officer Anderson was ambushed by Cabana while on routine patrol. Cabana was traveling with two other illegal aliens and carrying a pound of cocaine. An armed citizen named Rory Vertigan witnessed the shooting and helped capture the outlaws.

Officer Atkinson served on the Phoenix Police Department for five years. He left behind a wife and an infant son.

On April 29, 2002, Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputy David March (age 33) was shot to death by Mexican national Armondo Garcia. Invader Garcia told friends that he wanted to kill a police officer. Garcia saw Deputy March on patrol one evening and pulled over and waited for March to drive past him. As soon as March began to pass, Garcia opened fire. Garcia fled back across the border after murdering March.

For four years, the government of Mexico refused to apprehend or extradite Garcia. In February 2006, U.S. Customs officers arrested Garcia in Mexico. Garcia has since pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.

Deputy March served with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department for seven years and left behind a wife and stepdaughter.

On August 9, 2002, U.S. Park Ranger Kris Eggle (age 27) was killed by Mexican drug dealers while on duty in Arizona's Oregon Pipe Cactus National Monument Park. Ranger Eggle was attempting to apprehend two drug dealers, after being notified by Mexican authorities that the two had crossed the border and were headed into the park. One of the drug dealers opened fire on Ranger Eggle with an AK-47. Eggle died before a medivac helicopter arrived on the scene. Mexican police officers shot and killed Eggle's murderer.

U.S. Park Ranger Eggle left behind his grieving parents and his sister (also a U.S. Park Ranger).

On November 13, 2005, Dallas Police Officer Brian Jackson (age 28) was shot to death by illegal alien Juan Lizcano. Officer Jackson responded to a call from Lizcano's ex-girlfriend. Lizcano was threatening her and fired a gun inside her house. As Officer Jackson approached the house, Lizcano fled at which time Jackson gave chase. Lizcano eventually lay in wait and fired on the Dallas patrolman. Officer Jackson died one hour later at Baylor Medical Center.


Juan Lizcano had been arrested two months before murdering the police officer (once for threatening his girlfriend with a knife and again for a DUI). Lizcano had been living illegally in the United States for two years.

Officer Brian Jackson served on the Dallas Police Department for five years. He left behind a wife of only two months.

On September 21, 2006, Houston Police Officer Rodney Johnson was shot and killed while making a routine traffic stop. The man that murdered Ofc. Johnson was a Mexican national who had been deported seven years earlier. However, President Bush's refusal to defend the Mexican border allowed this human predator to easily re-enter the United States and eventually turn this police officer's wife into a widow.

Officer Johnson stopped a commercial vehicle traveling 20 miles over the posted speed limit. The truck was driven by Juan Leonardo Quintero. A co-worker and Quintero's two stepdaughters were also in the vehicle.

When Quintero was unable to provide any form of identification, Ofc. Johnson handcuffed him and placed him in the backseat of his patrol car. Once the officer was seated behind the wheel again, Quintero though handcuffed, removed the 9mm handgun concealed in his waistband and began firing at Johnson through the plastic shield separating the front and back seats. Ofc. Johnson was shot in the head five times. He was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to a local hospital.

40 year old Officer Rodney Johnson was a 12 year veteran of the Houston Police Department and a U.S. Army veteran. While serving on the HPD, Johnson received two Lifesaving Awards. He left behind his wife Joslyn (also a police officer) and five children.

Clara Rodriguez, who lives in the neighborhood where Johnson patrolled had this to say about the murdered officer: "He was just so very nice. He was not ever mean. It just breaks my heart. I feel so very bad for his wife. He got up and went to work this morning, and this is what happened. This is what happened to one of the people who protects us, who truly took care of us."

Juan Leonardo Quintero is a convicted child molester and DWI offender, and was deported to Mexico by U.S. immigration officials in 1999. He had been working for a Houston area landscaping company and despite the DWI conviction, Quintero was driving a company vehicle at the time Officer Johnson stopped him.

These are only a few of the stories of the human cost of illegal immigration. The next time you hear someone say "they are only here to work"...Remember these police officers who paid the ultimate price for so-called cheap labor.

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/64377