Affidavit: Venezuelan migrant bites CBP officer at Northeast El Paso processing center

A 19-year-old migrant assaulted a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at a migrant processing center in Northeast El Paso, officials said.

Jhon Rincon-Teran, a Venezuelan citizen, was being held about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector Centralized Processing Center, which is at 9201 Gateway Blvd., near Hondo Pass Drive, when he assaulted the officer, FBI El Paso officials said.

“Our partners with the United States Border Patrol interact with thousands of people every day andselflessly put themselves in harm’s way protecting our nation’s borders,” FBI El Paso SpecialAgent in Charge Jeffrey R. Downey said in a statement. “Assaults on USBP officers or any other federal agents/officers or task force officers will not be tolerated and will be addressed swiftly by our office so they can continue to carry out their sworn duty to protect our communities.”

The incident started when officers told a group of migrants in a detention cell not to hoard the food they were being served because the food expires and is only good for the time that it is served, according to a federal complaint affidavit. The officer told the group they would be served more meals during their detainment.

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A CBP processing coordinator officer noticed Rincon-Teran was becoming agitated after officers gave the instructions to the group, officials said.

The affidavit does not state how many migrants were in the detention cell at the time of the incident, but states it holds up to 150 migrants.

Rincon-Teran began doing pushups and banging the floor, the affidavit states.

The officer noticed Rincon-Teran's actions but did not acknowledge him since he was not hurting anyone, according to the affidavit.

Rincon-Teran then started running around the detention cell. The officer ordered Rincon-Teran to stop running to prevent anyone from getting hurt.

Rincon-Teran then got angry, continued to run around the cell and became aggressive with other migrants, the affidavit states.

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The officer told Rincon-Teran to stop running, sit down and relax, officials said.

Rincon-Teran replied, "No," and yelled obscenities toward the officer, the affidavit states.

The officer ordered Rincon-Teran to come to him in an effort to remove Rincon-Teran from the detention cell to de-escalate the situation, the affidavit states. Rincon-Teran allegedly continued yelling profanities and displaying obscene hand gestures to the officer.

The officer called for assistance to separate Rincon-Teran from the other migrants.

The officer again ordered Rincon-Teran to come to him, but Rincon-Teran refused tocomply, backed away from the officer and got into a fighting stance, the affidavit states.

The officer, along with other CBP employees, entered the cell, walked toward Rincon-Teran and began using "hands-on control techniques" to place him in handcuffs, the affidavit states. While attempting to place the handcuffs, the officer's right hand lost contact with Rincon-Teran's shoulder and fell in front of Rincon-Teran's face.

Rincon-Teran then allegedly bit the officer's right index finger.

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The officer pulled his finger out from Rincon-Teran’s mouth. The officer felt pain andobserved blood on his finger, the affidavit states.

Rincon-Teran was then handcuffed and "escorted to an isolation cell where he continued being belligerent," the affidavit states.

Agents entered and were able to handcuff him and place him in another holding area.

Rincon-Teran was arrested Thursday by FBI El Paso agents on suspicion of assaulting a federal officer.

He was booked into the El Paso County Jail without bond, jail records show.

“Our agents along with our Border Patrol Processing Coordinators continue to show valor and couragein the most trying circumstances," U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony “Scott” Good said in a statement. "This is just another example of the inherent dangers our agents andBPCCs face every day. Thankfully, the aggressor is facing prosecution through our invaluable law enforcement partnerships with law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Affidavit: Venezuelan bites CBP officer at El Paso processing center