This is a developing story and will be updated.
A video from a Brewster County sheriff’s deputy is raising alarm among anti-wall activists and women who live in the Big Bend for capturing a group of wall contractors making vulgar comments about a woman who had filed complaints that they were trespassing on her land — with another deputy participating in the riff.
The video was from a bodycam, obtained in an open records request, worn by one deputy. It was made in August after a conflict between the workers and a Terlingua woman who says they crossed onto her land while building a fence at a man camp, taunted her and “menaced” her and a friend. The Big Bend Sentinel is not naming the woman, at her request, because she wanted to consult with an attorney before releasing a statement on the incident.
After the confrontation, deputies then questioned the group of men at a different location. “Where’s she at?” one of the workers asks.
“I already told you you should have tried to f- – – her. It’s not too late now,” says another worker on the video, surrounded by seven other men in work clothes. They all laugh.
“I mean, you still can as long as you stay on your side of the property,” says a deputy just off camera, spurring more laughter.
What follows is more lewd commentary and laughter among the group, along with the deputies outlining what happens with the criminal trespass notices they were writing up for a few of the men involved in the initial encounter; the notices state that they will be charged with a Class B misdemeanor if they enter the woman’s property again.
Sheriff Ronny Dodson said after reviewing the video and speaking with officers who viewed it, they believe the deputy off-camera was referring to bringing the woman a bottle of wine and not responding to the worker comment about having sex with her. Still, he said he was going to meet with his officers Monday to discuss the incident and ensure everyone understands the need to remain professional.
The incident took place at the man camp being built by a Louisiana-based Cartesian Group on Highway 118 north of Terlingua, in service of a larger construction project being led by Southwest Valley Constructors, a subsidiary of Kiewit. (Kiewit has several subcontractors working at the site.)
Police reports on the incident with the fence include accusations on both sides, with one contractor alleging the woman tried to run him over, cursing alleged on both sides, and the woman telling police she felt threatened, including by some men who identified themselves as security and carried guns. When the video was posted on Instagram accounts, it drew hundreds of comments, numerous calling the men’s actions gross and questioning the one deputy’s participation, and many women wrote that they now feel threatened by the presence of contractors.
Over the past few months, numerous local women have brought up concerns for their safety in response to plans for border wall man camps being built around the region, citing statistics about a rise in gender-based violence correlated with the construction of temporary worker housing in remote communities.
Kiewitt did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
