FederalDaily - July 6, 2007
Union Seeks Halt to CBP Pepper Spray Exercise
The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) is seeking an end to a Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) mandatory training exercise in which pepper spray is released into the faces of CBP Officers
(CBPOs). NTEU President Colleen Kelley said on July 2 that the CBP should halt the training after a
National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) study revealed that CBP failed to employ
proper safety controls during the exercise. The report was requested by Kelley following an April 2006
incident at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, Ga., where two CPBOs and
an instructor suffered eye injuries after they were exposed to the spray, also known as oleoresin capsicum
(OC) spray. One CBPO who was sprayed in the face at close range suffered permanent eye damage that
will eventually require corneal transplant surgery, NTEU said. Although CBP requires all newly hired
CBPOs to become OC spray-certified, Kelley said NIOSH noted that agency trainers violated important
FLETC safety precautions during training, including the use of a spray considered far more toxic than
what is normally used at the academy. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org
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Ex-USPS Box Clerk Gets Jail Time for Pilfered Netflix DVDs
A former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) box clerk in Houston was sentenced this month to 18 months in
federal prison for stealing more than 8,000 DVDs that belonged to online movie providers Netflix and
Blockbuster. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Southern Texas, Anthony
Zuniga, 53, a USPS employee since 1974, was convicted on two counts of theft of mail by a postal employee.
The office said postal inspectors became suspicious last year after Netflix officials called to complain
that an unusually large number of movies to be returned via a Houston post office box were missing.
Inspectors set up surveillance and on Aug. 3, 2006, observed Zuniga dump a tub of Netflix and Blockbuster
DVDs into a plastic bag and then attempt to leave the postal facility, the government said. According
to the Attorney’s Office, Zuniga’s vehicle was stopped as it was exiting the parking lot
and inspectors found a bag containing 122 DVDs. Later, inspectors found 8,177 stolen DVDs at Zuniga’s
residence, the government said. To see more, go to: www.usdoj.gov/usao/txs/releases/July%202007/070702-Zuniga.htm
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Lawmakers Urge Halt to Deportation of Servicemembers’ Relatives
A group of lawmakers is urging the administration to stop the practice of deporting those members
of servicemembers’ families who may lack the proper documentation to remain in the United States
legally. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and 22 other House lawmakers sent a letter July 2 to President
Bush asking him to change the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deportation policy regarding family
members of those in military service. The request surfaced following deportation proceedings against
Yaderline Hiraldo Jimenez, the wife of Army Spec. Alex Jimenez, who has been missing in Iraq since
his unit was attacked by insurgents on May 2007. Mrs. Jimenez entered the United States illegally in
2001 from the Dominican Republic, married Alex in 2004, and has since petitioned for a green card,
the letter said. “Although [DHS] Secretary [Michael] Chertoff stated that DHS has terminated
the deportation case against Mrs. Jimenez, the policy that allows such deportation remains,” the
letter said. “We call on you to change DHS’ policy and protect families of those serving
in the military from deportation.” To see more, go to: www.house.gov/schakowsky/LettertoBush.pdf
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