Feds withhold name of officer who killed escapee

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Federal officials said Monday they plan to continue to withhold the name of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent who fatally shot a New York prison escapee last week.

The agent who shot convicted killer Richard Matt, 49, was a member of the U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Unit out of Vermont's Swanton sector, New York State Police said. Border officials in Texas said he is a member of an elite squad headquartered at Fort Bliss, just north of El Paso.

The agent "discharged several rounds from a semi-automatic weapon striking Matt in the head three times," New York State Police said. Matt had a stolen 20-gauge shotgun on him.

John C. Pfeifer, chief patrol agent for the Swanton sector, said his agency requires the name of the agent and any identifying information be withheld while an internal investigation into the use of force occurs.

Members of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit, known as BORTAC, a "specially trained and equipped for rapid response to situations involving threats to national and border security requiring specialized tactics and training," were in the area, Pfeifer said.

The refusal to release the name of the federal agent is in sharp contrast with New York officials, who identified State Police Sgt. Jay Cook as the officer who shot and wounded the second escaped prisoner at about 3:20 p.m. ET Sunday.

Pfeifer and Kris Grogan, a border patrol spokesman, said their agency has policies and protocols that must be followed in officer-involved shootings. Withholding a shooter's name is part of the procedures.

"We have our own investigations to go through with the use of force," Grogan said. He does expect the name to be released within the coming days.

The Swanton sector of the Customs and Border Patrol covers the international border from the Maine-New Hampshire line to the Ogdensberg, N.Y. area with eight border stations.

New York State Police requested assistance from the Swanton sector to help find the two men who broke out June 6 from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., Pfeifer said. Customs and Border Protection brought in additional BORTAC members from the El Paso, Texas, area along with a Black Hawk helicopter from the Detroit area.

Hours after the capture of the second prisoner, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had named and hailed the officer who shot David Sweat, 35, twice; Sweat's condition was upgraded Monday to serious from critical at Albany Medical Center. The governor called Cook a "hero" and mentioned that the officer had two teenage daughters at home.

Cook had spotted Sweat jogging along a road within the targeted area.

New York State Police also provided additional background on Cook, including that he was a 21-year police veteran and had worked his career in B Troop, which covers the area of the escape. The superintendent of the New York State Police made the decision to immediately release the name of Cook, department spokesman Beau Duffy told The Burlington Free Press.

The 295-mile section of the border covered by the Swanton sector has an authorized strength of about 300 agents, Pfeifer said. He declined to say how many are members of the tactical unit.

Contributing: Luis Carlos Lopez, El Paso Times