The US Department of Justice on Tuesday announced that it would be investigating the FBI team responsible for the agents who failed to report their shooting. DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz is heading up the investigation.
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Protesters plan to gather at the U.S District court in downtown Portland on Wednesday as Ammon Bundy and 28 other defendants appear in federal court for a hearing. Both were riding in the truck Finicum drove. Finicum was driving one of two vehicles that were pulled over while carrying key occupation figures. Backers of the takeover have said the shooting wasn’t justified.
With his window rolled down, Finicum yelled that he and the others were on the way to a meeting with the sheriff of Grant County.
During the press conference, officials played video and audio tapes of the confrontation, during which Finicum can be heard telling law enforcement officers: “Go ahead, put the bullet through me”.
A medical examiner’s autopsy showed Finicum suffered three gunshot wounds to the back.
Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson answers questions during a news conference about the investigation into the death of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum at the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office in Bend, Ore., Tuesday, March 8, 2016.
The FBI previously released video of the shooting to counter claims Finicum did nothing to provoke it.
“Stay down”, the woman tells the two other people inside the truck.
Investigators say Finicum’s near collision with an officer at the roadblock and potentially reaching for his gun justified the shooting.
A transcript provided Tuesday shows the exchange between Finicum and officers after he exits his truck. “You’re going to have to shoot me”.
Investigators said OSP troopers also fired three shots at Finicum’s truck when he breached the barricade, believing their lives were in danger. Finicum was out of range of the Taser, he said.
Finicum was shot three times and killed. If the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents did fire any shots, officials said none struck Finicum.
However, investigators concluded that at least one of the shots fired came from an agent and lodged in Finicum’s truck.
The names of the law enforcement officers involved are not being released out of concern for “their safety and the safety of their families”, Norris said, adding that there have been threats against the officers, including rewards offered by extremist groups. A few holdouts extended the occupation to almost six weeks before they surrendered February 11. They had been among a larger group who took over the refuge’s headquarters in a defiant protest of federal land policies.
Participants in a six-week armed occupation at a USA wildlife refuge in OR have been indicted on fresh charges, including that they carried firearms in federal facilities and stole and damaged government property. “Look at the stars”.
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As Finicum stood in the snow, authorities told him multiple times to lie on the ground and surrender.
