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Christmas was 11 days away, and Brian Terry was eager to fly home to Michigan for his first family holiday in three years. He couldn't wait to see the faces of his nephew and nieces when they opened the presents he'd been hinting about. But first the U.S. Border chicago cubs tickets Patrol agent had to finish his shift in a remote stretch of Arizona desert that was the most dangerous drug-smuggling, chicago cubs tickets human-trafficking route along the U.S.-Mexican border.
The federal government's botched gun-running chicago cubs tickets sting wasn't even mentioned in the first reports of Terry's death. Yet the killing of the muscular former Marine would pull the covers off a secret Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives chicago cubs tickets (ATF) "gun-walking" operation and stoke a political firestorm that likely climaxes next week with a House vote on whether to hold Attorney chicago cubs tickets General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing chicago cubs tickets to turn over Fast and Furious documents.
That cold December night, Terry was working out of Nogales, more than 100 miles west of his usual assignment near Bisbee. He and three other agents in an elite Border Patrol Tactical Team were patrolling 10 miles north of the city near Peck Canyon.
chicago cubs tickets The rugged area was a known haunt of " rip crews ," the bands of thieves chicago cubs tickets who prey on drug dealers and illegal immigrants crossing the borderland. The tactical team had been sent into the area to conduct surveillance.
A few minutes after 11 p.m., near the town of Rio Rico, the squad spotted five men they suspected were illegal immigrants. Details of what happened next remain sketchy. According to a report released by congressional Republicans , at least two of the suspects were carrying rifles. The officers reportedly identified themselves as federal agents, but the men refused to drop their weapons and one of them opened fire. A ferocious gun battle ensued.
Two rifles traced to Fast and Furious that had been bought for use by the Sinaloa drug cartel were found at the scene. Reports began to filter out that the guns were among hundreds chicago cubs tickets that ATF agents chicago cubs tickets lost track of and that ended up in the hands of criminals.
Speaking at a memorial service for Terry on the one-year anniversary of his death, the ATF whistleblower who first revealed the government gunrunning operation, Special Agent John Dodson, chicago cubs tickets pulled out a whiskey chicago cubs tickets bottle, took a swig and gave a toast: "Thank you, Brian Terry."
In the 18 months since the shootout, Terry's parents have waged a very public battle to uncover what happened that night and to find out how Fast and Furious contributed to their son's death. Kent and Josephine Terry, who divorced when Brian was 20, have been staples in the conservative media and welcomed by congressional Republicans in the escalating political battle .
They told Fox News they believed Holder and other Justice Department chicago cubs tickets officials are " hiding something " and said President Barack Obama's June 20 assertion of executive privilege over documents related to Fast and Furious chicago cubs tickets is preventing the full story from coming out.
In a solicitation email with the subject line, "Our son didn't have to die," Terry's parents ask for a donation to the Brian Terry Foundation to help the families of other Border chicago cubs tickets Patrol agents killed or wounded on duty. A postscript says, "Attorney General Eric Holder's refusal to fully disclose the documents associated with Operation Fast and Furious and President chicago cubs tickets Obama's assertion of executive privilege serves to compound this tragedy. It denies the Terry family and the American people the truth. The President's executive priveledge [sic] makes getting chicago cubs tickets to the truth much more difficult."
The family has filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit against the federal government. More than one-third of the 65-page complaint offers family photos chicago cubs tickets and details about Terry's childhood and his relationship with his parents and three siblings.
A native of suburban chicago cubs tickets Detroit, Terry ran cross-country at Flat Rock High School, where he graduated in 1988. He enlisted in the Marines and spent most of his four-year tour as a military police officer in Naples, Italy. After his military service, Terry graduated from college. He became a police officer, first in Ecorse, Mich., and then in his hometown of Lincoln Park. On his first day on the job there, he responded to a shootout at a residential complex in which three people died.
Terry, who was single, loved sports cars and owned a series of Mustangs and Corvettes. Even though he enjoyed being a police officer, chicago cubs tickets he had wanted to be a federal law enforcement agent since he was a boy. In 2007, he was president of his graduating class of 699 at the Border Patrol Academy in El Paso, Texas. At 37, he was the oldest agent to be accepted into the Border Patrol's elite tactical unit and went on to pass a grueling five-week chicago cubs tickets training course, similar to the one used to select special operations forces in the military.
Terry's flag-draped coffin was sent home to Michigan in time for Christmas. The gifts for his nieces and nephew arrived as mourners paid their respects at the funeral home. He had shipped them from Arizona just before his final shift.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., left, stretches out her hand to get the attention of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, as the panel considers a vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 20, 2012. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the ranking member, sits between them. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 20: House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) (C) talks with raking member U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) (L) during a mark up hearing on Capitol Hill June 20, 2012 in Washington, DC. Issa and the committee Republicans called the hearing to vote on holding U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over documents the GOP says are key to their investigation into the failed Fast and Furious operation. Before the start of the hearing, the White House asserted the documents are protected by executive privilidge. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., center, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, confers with an aide as the panel considers a vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, on Capitol chicago cubs tickets Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 20, 2012. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the ranking member, second from left, speaks with Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., who authored an amendment in support of Holder. In a showdown with President Barack Obama's administration, chicago cubs tickets House Republicans had pressed for more Justice Department documents on the flawed gun-smuggling probe known as Operation Fast and Furious chicago cubs tickets that resulted in hundreds of guns illicitly purchased in Arizona gun shops winding up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, center, debates Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., as the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee considers a vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 20, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, led by Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., right, considers whether to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 20, 2012. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the ranking member, speaks at left. In a showdown with President Barack Obama's administration, House Republicans are pressing for more Justice Department documents on the flawed gun-smuggling probe known as Operation Fast and Furious that resulted in hundreds of guns illicitly purchased in Arizona gun shops winding up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 20: House Oversight chicago cubs tickets and Government Reform raking member U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) (R) hears from U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) during a mark up hearing with June 20, 2012 in Washington, DC. Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and the committee Republicans called the hearing to vote on holding U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over documents the GOP says are key to their investigation into the failed Fast and Furious operation. Before the start of the hearing, the White House asserted the documents are protected by executive privilidge. (Photo chicago cubs tickets by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Attorney General Eric holder speaks to reporters following his meeting on Capitol chicago cubs tickets Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 19, 2012. Holder wants a House panel to drop plans to try to hold him in contempt of Congress, and the panel's chairman wants more Justice Department documents regarding Operation Fast and Furious, a flawed chicago cubs tickets gun-smuggling probe in Arizona. Holder and Rep. Issa met in an effort to resolve their dispute over the investigation of Fast and Furious by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that Issa chairs.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., speaks to reporters following chicago cubs tickets his meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 19, 2012. Holder wants a House panel to drop plans to try to hold him in contempt of Congress, and the panel's chairman wants more Justice Department documents regarding Operation Fast and Furious, chicago cubs tickets a flawed gun-smuggling chicago cubs tickets probe in Arizona. Holder and Issa met in an effort to resolve their dispute over the investigation of Fast and Furious by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that Issa chairs. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Attorney General Eric Holder speaks to reporters following
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