AUSTIN, Texas Serving in the military overseas is not supposed to prepare a member of Congress for the tragedy to be experienced while in office, but for Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), what he saw at war has not been far off from what he has lived in three years of the border crisis back at home.
The 76-page report, “So Much Blood on the Ground: Dangerous and Deadly Vehicle Pursuits under Texas’ Operation Lone Star,” documents the spike in vehicle chases by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and local law enforcement in the 60 most heavily affected Texas counties implementing Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star program. Records reveal that in several counties, unnecessary vehicle chases have increased by over 1,000 percent since the program began. Human Rights Watch found that residents in these counties are disproportionately affected by law enforcement vehicle pursuits and crashes.
The driver of the vehicle struck by the Nissan also died at the scene. Her name was Alejandra Torres Flores: a 62-year-old resident of Laredo, Texas. Four other passengers riding with her, three of whom were youths, suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Another incident occurred on March 13, 2023. It began when a truck, driven by 22-year-old Rassian Comer of Louisiana, was clocked for speeding and law enforcement attempted to stop the truck. When Comer did not comply with the attempted stop, a