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The fatal shooting of听a man who allegedly threw rocks at a US Border Patrol agent while trying to escape capture in the San听Diego mountains Tuesday has rekindled concerns over the听contentious issue of how much force border agents should use when trying to apprehend suspected illegal immigrants.

According to the San Diego County Sheriff鈥檚 Department, which is investigating the killing, the agent was struck and injured by the rock-throwing man and shouted warnings before firing his gun.

A 2012 government-commissioned report听that included an internal review by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), parent agency of the Border Patrol, as well as an independent听review by the non-profit Police Executive Research Forum,听examined the issue and made recommendations, among them curbs on deadly force in response to rock-throwing.

Following the report, however, the CBP did not place restrictions on the use of deadly force, opting instead to reaffirm the current policy.

As stated in an e-mail to the Monitor Wednesday, the policy is as follows: 鈥淐BP agents and officers may use deadly force only when the agent or officer has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the agent, officer, or to another person.鈥�

In this latest incident, according to the San Diego County Sheriff鈥檚 Department, the agent pursued the suspect into a ravine and up a hill, where he was hit with rocks thrown by the suspect.

鈥淭he agent repeatedly told the suspect to stop in English and Spanish as the suspect continued to throw rocks down at the agent,鈥� according to Lt. Glenn Giannantonio of the San Diego Sheriff鈥檚 Department in a statement e-mailed to the Monitor.

The agent was able to deflect some of the rocks with his hands, he continued, but the suspect threw progressively larger rocks down at the agent, 鈥渨ith the largest being approximately the size of a basketball.鈥�

One of the larger rocks struck the agent in the head.听Fearing that another rock strike to the head could kill or incapacitate him, the agent fired his duty pistol at least twice at the man, striking and killing him, the Sheriff鈥檚 Department statement said.

The department鈥檚 statement also notes that the information about the confrontation is 鈥渇ragmentary and has not been completely verified.鈥�

Nonetheless, the killing has raised concerns among听civil rights advocates.听The larger point is 鈥渉ow marginalized groups are treated by those who are in power,鈥� says Charles Gallagher, chair of the Sociology Department at La Salle University in Philadelphia, via e-mail.

From stop and frisk programs 鈥渢hat target black and brown New Yorkers,鈥� to draconian immigration laws that allow police to stop anyone they simply suspect is an 鈥渋llegal,鈥� to 鈥渟tand your ground鈥� laws that allow stereotypes to be the presumption of criminality, says Professor Gallagher, 鈥渨e have created an environment where civil liberties can be ignored or excessive force can be used because a particular population is defined and treated as second-class citizens.鈥�

There should be very little reason for Border Patrol agents to rely on deadly use of force to stop immigrants trying to seek a better life for themselves and their families, says Jorge-Mario Cabrera of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA).

鈥淲hat these incidents tell us is that we need to rethink border security before it turns into the Wild West,鈥� he adds via e-mail.

This perspective does not take into account the full range of threats faced on the border, however, says Ira Mehlman, of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

鈥淩ocks can be deadly weapons (whether they are thrown in San Diego or in the Middle East) and law enforcement officers have right to defend themselves against the use of deadly force. This right extends to Border Patrol officers, just as it would to any other law enforcement officer,鈥� he says via e-mail.

Beyond that, 鈥渁ll across the Southern border, agents deal with potentially dangerous individuals,鈥� he says, adding, 鈥淎s we all know, violent criminals and criminal organizations operate along the border.鈥�