U.S. Border Patrol agent Jesus Mesa Jr. shot down a 15-year-old Mexican boy named Sergio Adrian Hernandez-Guereca in 2010, alleging that the boy threw a rock at him. Attorney Robert Hilliard, the lawyer for the victim's family, stated that there was no proof that Hernandez-Guereca threw a rock at the agent, and continues to press on with a lawsuit after U.S. prosecutors chose not to charge Mesa in the wrongful death of the teenager. The teenager's death was witnessed by 25 civilian witnesses and law enforcement officials.

Border patrol agents continue to use deadly forces to combat rock-throwers despite the fact that a government-commissioned review recommended that they end this practice. The nonprofit group that advices enforcement agencies, the Police Executive Research Forum, suggests that the Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) cease the use of deadly forces on rock-wielding and vehicle-driving assailants, according to Patrol Chief Mike Fisher. Though, Fisher seems to think that rash reactions are sometimes justified in the field. The proposed changes that were determined by the internal review of CBP's use-of-force policies and practices were called "restrictive" by Fisher.

"We shouldn't have carve-outs in our policy and say, except for this, except for that," Fisher said. "Just to say that you shouldn't shoot at rock-throwers or vehicles for us, in our environment, was very problematic and could potentially put Border Patrol agents in danger."

Fisher, like many others in the agency, regards rocks as lethal weapons, and they respond accordingly. Department of Homeland Security states that there were 339 rock-related incidents in 2011, and 33 of those times agents responded with gunfire, and pepper spray and batons were used 118 times. Rock attacks dropped to 185 the follow year; 22 gunfire responses and 42 less-than-lethal responses.

Hernandez-Guereca was just one of many killed by the CBP for throwing rocks. In fact, in 2010, alone, close to ten individuals were killed in rock-throwing incidents by Border Patrol agents, including Anatasio Hernandez, an unarmed Mexican who died from stun gun wounds after he pelted rocks at an agent. And, another teenage boy Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, who was riddled with bullets.

The agents say that considering the circumstances, they show considerable restraint. One officer said that every agent has gotten "rocked" at one time or another, but they only turn to the use of weaponry under "exceptional" circumstances.

"You don't want to just start shooting indiscriminately at a vehicle and try to blow out tires like they do on TV, but our environment is totally different," Fisher said. "In many cases, unlike a concrete jungle, you have a very narrow trail and the Border Patrol agent doesn't always have the ability to get out of the way."

Fisher rejected notions that Border Patrol agents were "trigger-happy," according to Huffington Post. He claims that the environment sometimes demands the use of force particularly in the case that assailants have access to vehicles, which is why he opposes the proposed ban on firing at vehicles. Also, stating that the federal agency operates in totally different terrain.