Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said she has “serious concerns” with the way U.S. Border Patrol agents conduct roadside checkpoints in New York's North Country. The viral video of a St. Lawrence County woman being tased by agents last month drew her attention.
A spokesman at Gillibrand’s office said the senator met with Customs and Border Protection officials in Washington . She "wanted to get to the bottom of" what led two border patrol agents to apparently hold down and stun Ogdensburg resident and SUNY Canton graduate Jesse Cooke last month.
Spokesman Marc Brummer said Gillibrand “still had serious concerns about lack of transparency and accountability” after the meeting. He said agents are not required to keep records on who they detain at roadside checkpoints for secondary inspection or why, unless a violent incident or arrest results.
Gillibrand plans to introduce a bill in Congress that would change that. It would require border patrol officers to document the basis for a secondary stop, including age, race, and gender of the person, whether a search was conducted, and whether any complaint was made by the person stopped.
