Tired of Waiting for a Federal Fix, Border Sheriff Tackles Cartel Crime With Bold Action

Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels points to the U.S.–Mexico border in Sierra Vista, Arizona, on May 5, 2019. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

BISBEE, Arizona—Tired of waiting for the federal government to fix the border, Sheriff Mark Dannels decided to take matters into his own hands. A personal run-in with a Mexican cartel only cemented his motivation to rid his county of cross-border crime.

Five years ago, Dannels’s son, Sierra Vista police officer Justin Dannels, fatally shot a man allegedly connected to the Sinaloa cartel when the man tried to run him over during a traffic stop.