Thursday, January 28, 2016

FBI releases video of Oregon occupier's fatal shooting by state police

 

FBI video of Oregon shooting

FBI video of Oregon shooting

The FBI and Oregon State Police traffic stop and shooting of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum in Oregon on Tuesday. The video has been edited from the version released Thursday by the FBI.  

The FBI and Oregon State Police traffic stop and shooting of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum in Oregon on Tuesday. The video has been edited from the version released Thursday by the FBI.  

Matt PearceMatt PearceContact Reporter

The FBI released video Thursday that shows Oregon State Police fatally shooting one of the men who occupied an Oregon wildlife refuge. Officials said he was reaching for a handgun that was in a pocket inside his jacket.

The shooting happened Tuesday afternoon during a traffic stop on a rural stretch of Oregon highway, where law enforcement had hoped to peacefully arrest the leaders of the armed group that had occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge since Jan. 2.

As of Thursday evening, four holdouts remain at the refuge, officials and one occupier said.

In video taken from an aircraft, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, 55, can be seen speeding away from law enforcement officials during an initial traffic stop. He then drives his white truck into a snowdrift near a roadblock, nearly hitting a law enforcement officer.

“Law enforcement showed great restraint, and when the vehicle took off it just about seriously injured a law enforcement officer as it barreled toward that barricade,” Greg Bretzing, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon, said at a Thursday evening news conference where officials released the video.

Man killed in Oregon standoff had preached what he called a 'cowboy's stand for freedom'

Man killed in Oregon standoff had preached what he called a 'cowboy's stand for freedom'

Nigel Duara

Where some activists at an occupied federal wildlife refuge preached rowdyism and brimstone, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum was wistful, almost sad.

Bedecked in his trademark earmuffs and cowboy hat, the Arizona rancher would wonder aloud with a shake of his head why reporters couldn’t simply see the rightness...

Where some activists at an occupied federal wildlife refuge preached rowdyism and brimstone, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum was wistful, almost sad.

Bedecked in his trademark earmuffs and cowboy hat, the Arizona rancher would wonder aloud with a shake of his head why reporters couldn’t simply see the rightness...

(Nigel Duara)

It shows Finicum getting out of the vehicle and then lifting his hands in the air as Oregon state troopers approached him with their guns drawn. The video, which is shot from a distance, shows him then lowering his hands toward his body, then falling into the snow as he is shot.

“On at least two occasions, Finicum reaches his right hand toward a pocket on the left inside portion of his jacket. He did have a loaded 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun in that pocket,” Bretzing said.

Bretzing said that because law enforcement officials still had to deal with the other occupants of the vehicle, it took 10 minutes to start giving Finicum medical aid. An official time of death has not been released.

Oregon standoff at national wildlife refuge

Oregon standoff at national wildlife refuge

About 15 men broke off from a Jan. 2 protest march to seize the unoccupied Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters to denounce the federal ownership of public lands and the incarceration of two eastern Oregon ranchers.

About 15 men broke off from a Jan. 2 protest march to seize the unoccupied Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters to denounce the federal ownership of public lands and the incarceration of two eastern Oregon ranchers.

 

The encounter took place on a remote stretch of U.S. Highway 395 roughly halfway between the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and the town of John Day, where Finicum and several other occupiers were headed to attend a community meeting.

Until now, officials had released no information about how Finicum was killed. He wasn’t formally identified by government officials until Thursday, though his supporters had confirmed his death to the media. A major-incident investigative team from Deschutes County, Ore., is reviewing the shooting.

GO TO THE FOLLOWING TO VIEW VIDEO;  http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-oregon-occupation-shooting-20160128-story.html

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