Off-duty Border Patrol agent rescues motorist

Havre Sector U.S. Border Patrol agents continue to help local law enforcement and emergency services, even when they are off duty.

An agent, who requested to not be named, was travelling home from a hunting trip and extracted a motorist from a vehicle after seeing it crash, a press release issued last Friday says.

“I commend the agent for a job well done in responding to help a person in need,” Chief Border Patrol Agent Christopher Richards said in the release. “His actions are yet another example of how we, as Border Patrol agents, are working to ensure the safety of our local communities.

“I’m proud to say that the agents here in Havre Sector truly represent the best of the Department of Homeland Security,” Richards added.

Border Patrol’s close work relationship with state and local law enforcement was discussed extensively with agency representatives and local law enforcement officers at a field hearing of the Senate Homeland Security subcommittee U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., held in Havre July 12 and also attended by U.S. Rep. Steve Daines, R-Mont.

The representatives all said working closely on issues is crucial to all law enforcement and emergency services and that cooperation has increased in the past few years.

Havre Sector Border Patrol personnel have assisted local law enforcement in several rescues in the past year.

The release says that the agent, who is stationed in Malta, was returning from a hunting trip Saturday, Nov. 16, when he saw a vehicle in front of him swerve off the road and roll several times.

The agent stopped and found the driver, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, trapped inside.

The agent removed the shattered windshield and cut the away the seatbelt to remove the driver, the release says.

The driver was traumatized by the crash but did not appear to be injured and did not require medical assistance. Representatives of the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene, the release says.