By KATHY McCORMACK and PATRICK WHITTLE, Associated Press
A U.S. Border Patrol agent who was killed in Vermont during a traffic stop near the Canadian border was a military veteran who worked security duty at the Pentagon during the time of the Sept. 11 attacks, his family said.
“He was a devoted agent who served with honor and bravery,” a family statement provided to The Associated Press late Tuesday said. “He had a tremendous respect and pride for the work he did; he truly embodied service over self.”
Agent David Maland, 44, was killed Monday afternoon following a traffic stop, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said in a statement. A German national in the country on what the FBI called a current visa was killed and an injured suspect was taken into custody and is being treated at a local hospital.
The violence temporarily closed part of Interstate 91 about 20 miles from Canada in Coventry, part of the small, 27,000-resident community of Orleans County in the Northeast Kingdom section of Vermont that straddles the international border.
Maland, whom the FBI confirmed was a U.S. Air Force veteran, was killed close to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Newport Station, part of the Swanton Sector that he was assigned to. The sector encompasses Vermont, parts of New York and New Hampshire, and includes 295 miles of international boundary with Canada.
The Derby Line–Rock Island Border Crossing is located about 12 miles by highway north of Coventry. It’s a major link to the Canadian province of Quebec, giving northern Vermont more French speakers than most of New England.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s thoughts and prayers are with Agent Maland’s family during this difficult time,” the agency said in a statement. The death is a tragedy, said Gov. Phil Scott and state Sen. Russ Ingalls, a Republican who represents the area.
Maland’s family said his career spanned nine years in the military and 15 in the federal government.
“While working in Washington, D.C., he was active security in the Pentagon during 9/11,” their statement said.
Maland also was a K-9 handler. Before heading to the northern border, he served in Texas, near the border with Mexico.
The Minnesota native who family members called by his middle name, Chris, was about to propose marriage to his partner, said an aunt, Joan Maland.
“We are all devastated,” she told AP in a text. She called him an “exceptional person. Incredible man.”
David Maland was the first Border Patrol agent to be killed in the line of duty since Javier Vega Jr. was shot and killed near Santa Monica, Texas, in 2014, according to records provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Vega was initially considered to be off duty at the time of his death, but in 2016 it was re-determined to have been in the line of duty, the agency said.
In 2010, Brian Terry ’s killing exposed the botched federal gun operation known as “Fast and Furious.” Border Patrol Agent Nicholas J. Ivie, of the Brian A. Terry Border Patrol Station, was mortally wounded in the line of duty in a remote area near Bisbee, Arizona, in 2012. Border Patrol Agent Isaac Morales was fatally stabbed while off duty in 2017 in Texas.
Originally Published:
