Yuma veteran says he was beaten at Andrade port of entry

A 60-year-old Yuma man says he has filed a complaint with the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection because he was beaten and detained more than 12 hours at the U.S. Port of Entry at Andrade, Calif.

Ken Weberg, a Vietnam veteran, said he was attacked by agents after he did not immediately comply with their order to take a seat in the port while his truck was inspected.

Weberg said he was attacked before he could finish explaining to officers that a circulatory problem in his legs made it uncomfortable for him to sit down.

"I know 9/11 has made things touchy these days, but this has to stop," Weberg said. "We should not have to be subjected to this type of treatment by these arrogant thugs. These guys on the border act like the Gestapo."

Weberg said an FBI agent from San Diego and CBP internal affairs officer from El Centro visited him in his home in the Foothills on May 29 to take a statement from him and that he had previously spoken to a Yuma FBI agent in April.

"I want these guys in jail. They need to be held accountable," Weberg said. "These guys aren't going to beat me up and laugh about it while collecting a paycheck."

The San Diego FBI would not comment, and neither the Yuma FBI or CBP internal affairs returned calls made to their office seeking comment for this article.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Public Affairs Officer Vince Bond said while he was not aware of the incident, under the federal Privacy Act, he is prohibited from discussing traveler's complaints.

What Bond did say, however, was that if Weberg filed a complaint in regard to an incident at the port, it would be taken seriously and investigated to the fullest.

"Our officers don't beat people," Bond said. "In general, if someone tries to abscond from the port or assaults an officer, then they will respond."

Bond added that if a traveler through a port has a concern with a customs officer they can ask to speak with a supervisor immediately to have the matter resolved.

They can also take a comment card, which are available at all the ports, fill it out later and send it in.

Weberg said on April 25 he went to San Luis Rio Colorado, Son., to see about having a car he owned repainted. Instead of waiting in a long line at the San Luis
Port of Entry, he said he decided to drive over to Algodones in hopes the wait time at that port would be shorter.

"I got there and there about 5:15 p.m. and there wasn't a single car in line," Weberg said. "I thought this was going to be quick."

But the officer in the primary inspection lane told him to leave his truck in the secondary inspection area and wait inside while it was checked over.

Weberg said once he was inside the waiting area he was told to sit down by an officer who was on duty there.

When Weberg replied that he would rather stand, he said the officer told him to sit down again. He went on to say he was about to explain why he would rather stand, when two agents began to beat him.

"It is so surreal," Weberg said. "I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't raise a fist or make any threatening moves. Nor did I tell them that I refused to sit down."

Weberg, who claims he has circulation problems in his legs due to exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, said three other officers also joined in.

"The entire incident is on security film," Weberg said. "They split my eye open, separated my shoulder and burst an artery in my leg, which caused me to start bleeding internally."

"After they had me handcuffed and shackled they must have also felt the need to Taser me," Weber added.

Weberg, who says he has been hospitalized twice as a result of the incident, said he was then put in a holding cell at the port, where he remained until it closed.

While he was in the holding cell, Weber said both the California Highway Patrol and the Imperial County Sheriff's Office were called to the scene, but neither agency filed a report on the incident.

According to an ICSO official, deputies responded to the port that day on a call in reference to a subject who became combative after being detained, but left when the matter was determined to be out of their jurisdiction.

Weberg said after the Andrade port closed he was driven by Customs officers to the Port of Entry in Calexico.

Weberg, who has lived in Yuma the past six years, said he was held at the Calexico port until about 4 a.m., before the officers finally drove him to the Imperial County jail in El Centro.

"I asked what I was being charged with and they said for interfering with an agent's ability to do his job," Weberg said.

At the jail, Weberg said he was finally given medical attention. He said the nurse who saw him, after taking his blood pressure and examining his leg, told the officers he needed to be sent to a hospital.

The officers Weberg said, then drove him from El Centro to the hospital in Brawley.

Weberg claims the hospital would not admit him so the officers drove him from Brawley, back to his home in the Foothills.

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James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.