A teenager tried to Cross The Border in California with two bottles of liquid methamphetamine in his bag. Two border officers checked the bag and the items he had with him, but instead of conducting a test to see if the bottles really contained juice (which the Teen claimed), they let him drink it, causing his death a little over an hour later, the Washington Post reported.
The incident took place on November 18, 2013 but the footage showing the two border officers seemingly prompting the teen to drink it surfaced only recently. The teen took a total of four sips from the bottle.
Liquid methamphetamine is 100 times more potent than an average does of non-liquid.
The officers could have tested the liquid via a testing kit that they had with them at that time. It is unclear why the officers asked the teen to drink it instead, other than they claimed that he said it was "apple juice" so they told him to "prove it."
Teen, officers identified
The teen was identified as Cruz Velazquez Acevedo. He was only 16 when he reportedly took the offer to bring the bottles across the border. The lawyer for Acevedo’s family said that the teen could have been offered by a Mexican cartel around $150 just to bring the bottles across the border.
The officers were identified as Velerie Baird and Adrian Perallon.
Baird was the first one who asked the teen to take drink from the bottle then Perallon told him to take another sip. He took two more sips and minutes after, he started to sweat and feel wobbly. Allegedly, he also screamed, “Mi corazon! Mi corazon!,” which meant “My heart” in English.
Perallon claimed that the teen was the one who initiated that he take a sip from the bottles he had with him.
According to the video, it seems as if the officers suspected that the liquid in the bottles was not apple juice because they were smiling at each other and were exchanging glances while the teen took sips from one of the bottles.
Victim taken to hospital
According to Teen Vogue, Acevedo was taken to Sharp Medical Center. Before being taken there, his internal temperature rose to 105 degrees and his pulse rate was at 220 beats per minute.
He also became unconscious when he was being transported to Sharp Medical Center. Thirty minutes after they arrived at the center, he was pronounced dead.
Family filed wrongful death lawsuit
The family of the teen hired Gene Iredale to represent them. They filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the two officers. Iredale said that the officers intimidated and coerced the teen to drink the liquid methamphetamine and also did not provide timely medical assistance. The officers reportedly called for emergency responders 30 minutes after he drank from the bottle.
The United States paid the family of Acevedo $1 million but did not punish the border officers. The family remains frustrated because the officers were not held responsible for the teen’s death. The two officers remain employed The Independent shared.
