16 […] at the speed that the truck was traveling with the illegal persons […] the high speed and recklessness, that we were informed that if the vehicle in which the security personnel was traveling had tried to pass the truck to block its path […] it would have been worse and more lethal for that team which was performing its national security duties in the area, and at the same time taking into account the alert we had received from informants we have in the area that there was going to be an attempt to smuggle drugs and firearms and we didn’t know what type of vehicle was going to be used, and taking into account this alert and the time at which this incident occurred we could not dismiss the possibility that this was the vehicle, and in any event the vehicle was traveling illegally carrying undocumented individuals who for a price try to reach their destination by any 68 means and this is prohibited. 74. On June 20, 2000, the Forensic Pathology Department of the Regional Forensic Institute, issued the preliminary autopsy reports of the seven persons who died in the events of June 18, 2000, providing a: a) police record, b) external description of the body, c) anatomopathological diagnosis, d) 69 manner of death, and e) conclusion. 75. On June 21, 2000, the Joint Board investigating the events of June 18, 2000, issued the following summary: […] the Haitian nationals […] climbed on to the vehicle […] some 20 kilometers from the border. And they were placed lying on their backs, across the bed of the truck and covered with a tarp by [Dominicans] who transport illegals from Haiti. […] who were driven on secondary roads and canal berms until reaching the main highway to the city of Santiago which was their final destination. […] that when they reached the crossing point at Botoncillo […] about 50 kilometers from the border, the patrol from the Border Intelligence Operations Detachment (DOIF) which was […] inspecting vehicles due to a report that there would be an attempt to smuggle drugs and/or firearms, ordered the truck to stop and the truck did not stop but rather […] increased its speed. […] that the DOIF Commander […] who was in charge of the patrol unit, ordered them to get in the patrol vehicle and gave pursuit in the dark and on a poorly maintained road, signaling with their high beams and honking their horn in order to make the truck stop but failing to do so. […] fired three times into the air […] in order to persuade the driver to stop but failing to achieve the objective. […] […] that they continued their pursuit for a distance of 17 kilometers, with the driver of the truck avoiding being caught by zigzagging and throwing objects throughout the pursuit. The patrol then proceeded to open fire on them with an M-16 rifle, aiming at the tires trying to stop the truck, and hitting the truck-bed and the cabin. In addition, the members of the patrol who were riding in the bed of the patrol wagon fired several times with a similar weapon and with the same objective. […] that the truck slid in a sharp curve causing the truck to roll over violently and trapping several Haitians under the vehicle. […] that the wagon carrying the patrol slid and collided with the overturned truck, stopping there. […] that once they had climbed down from the wagon, two members of the patrol fired into the air in order to persuade the Haitian nationals who were fleeing the scene to stop. […] that all the members of the DOIF patrol and regular service troops at the checkpoint agreed […] that the truck had the bed covered flat with a tarp made out of sacks. 68 Report dated June19, 2000, from the Commander of the 4th Infantry Bridage to the Chief of the General Staff, State document dated September 20, 2010. Annex. 69 Preliminary autopsy reports issued by the Regional Forensic Institute, Petitioners’ document dated May 5, 2009, and State document dated September 20, 2010.