On February 18, 2016, the Tri-County Major Incident Team released a report prepared, primarily, by the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office. The publically available version consists of 360 pages, though the page numbering indicates that the entire report consists of at least 714 pages. The officers involved are identified by assigned numbers, to protect their identity. There are heavy redactions of experience of officers and substantial portions of their interviews. References shown thus, {nn}, indicate PDF page numbers from the above linked document.
This article will point out discrepancies, disparities, and other portions that raise a question as to the objectivity of the published version of the report. The document explains that when they do the interviews, they can use the names of the other officers or personnel, though those names will be replaced by numbers in the documentation. So, when they speak of "Office #1", we have no idea who he is, but the numbers remain constant for the various players, throughout. There will be a distinction between "Officer #4" "DCSO 4", the latter being on the investigation team, the former being an officer involved from Oregon State Police (OSP). Italics will be used for direct quotes from the report.
The Cast - All Oregon State Police Officers and present at shooting scene:
Officer #1 Fired two rapid fire rounds into LaVoy's back, first shooter; also fired three rounds at truck as it approached the roadblock
Officer #2 Fired one round into LaVoy's back, was second shooter
Officer #3 Officer with taser, approaches LaVoy from tree line. Officer #3, if interviewed, was not included in the available version of this Report.
Officer #4 Drove Gray truck
Officer #5 Non-lethal (40mm) single round
Officer #6 Driver of Root Beer Truck (Lead Vehicle)
Officer #7 Non-lethal (40mm) multi-launcher - 6 rounds
Officer #8 Second OSP in Root Beer Truck
Note: Interviews will be presented in the order that they appear in the Report.
Note that all vehicles, OSP and FBI, were unmarked. Dress was "civies" in Burns, change to tactical gear on deployment to US 395. Deployment was staggered to avoid scrutiny by militia. Radio communication was different between FBI and OSP, requiring mixed partnering in vehicles to share communications. There was apprehension that the militia in Burns would respond, if open communication were used.
Officer #2
The first report {3} is from DCSO #4, who visited the scene on January 27 (day after the shooting) at 0330 hours. He found only one (1) .233 cartridge. Later, on the 29th, he observed OSP Crime Lab personnel remove a shard of metal from the driver's side mirror. That is all he had to say.
Next, we have "DCSO 20" with a Narrative {6-8} of his investigation of Officer #2, one of the OSP shooters. From the Narrative, we find that the FBI was in charge of the operation, with command being FBI HRT (Hostage Rescue Team). That OSP was assigned to assist the FBI in the operation. With regard to Officer #2, "A request for blood and urine from Officer #2 was made upon completion of the collection of property and we were informed that Officer #2 had been advised by counsel/representation not to provide a blood/urine sample."
So, we have an officer that had shot LaVoy Finicum. When asked to provide blood/urine samples, he refused based upon the advice of his "counsel". Now, that refusal could keep you from getting a job, get you fired from a job, lose your driver's license, and be cause for denial of certain government services. However, when you work for the agency that protects judges, you can expect the judges to protect those who protect them. That is pretty darned serious, and there would be no reason to refuse, if there were no reason to refuse.
Next, we have two DCSO officers interviewing Officer #2, in a transcribed interview {9-53}, on January 31. In all interviews, training, length of service, qualifications, and other information that might help to identify an officer, have been redacted. The following is from that interview:
It is clear that they had background on the "occupiers" {14}. The three primary vehicles (not counting the roadblock where the shooting occurred) were described. "There was the root beer colored pickup truck, which is a large Dodge pickup truck, there was my gray truck, which is the same model and design as the root beer truck, and a [green] van. Those three vehicles constituted the initial arrest team for the traffic stop."
In describing Ryan Payne's exit from LaVoy's truck, we have the following {20}:
So eventually there is conversations between those HRT members and Payne, and he acts like -- Payne acts like -- he's kind half out the truck. He acts like he's going to go back in. He starts to kind of go back in, and OFFICER NO. 5 fires a 40 millimeter less lethal sponge tip round which hits him in the arm, and then gives him more commands, starts to give commands: "You need to come out now. Put your hands up," you know, et cetera, which he did.Officer #2 then talks about what happened after LaVoy had told them that he was going to see the Sheriff {23}.
So we, in pursuit of that vehicle, followed it until it started getting close to the roadblock and we backed off slightly, anticipating there might be an issue there.
As we came around the corner and saw the roadblock, I observed the white truck swerve to the left. It didn't appear to be slowing down at all. I had time slow down and stop, and, in fact, the white truck appeared to accelerate rapidly away from us, and then maintain that speed throughout until it got to the roadblock.
Then, he explains his arrival at the shooting scene. He pulls up a ways back from LaVoy's truck. He sees Officer #1 over by the roadblock trucks. Officer #3 (the "non-lethal" officer) to the left and about 10 or 15 feet away from LaVoy {24-25}.
As I stepped up and was moving, I saw Mr. Finicum turn his back towards me and OFFICER NO. 1, and then I saw his right arm again dig deeply in towards what I would term as maybe a shoulder holster or something As I stepped up and was moving, I saw Mr. Finicum turn his back towards me and OFFICER NO. 1, and then I saw his right arm again dig deeply in towards what I would term as maybe a shoulder holster or something in that vicinity, and he seemed to struggle for just a second.
* * *
And just as soon as I pulled my rifle up and put the cross hair on Mr. Finicum, OFFICER NO. 1 fired, and I distinctly heard him fire, and I knew it was him firing, for whatever, reason.
And as soon as he fired and my scope just came up and was right in the middle of the back of Mr. Finicum, and I squeezed off a single round.
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So, this guy shoots LaVoy in the back, because Officer #1 shot LaVoy. But, maybe the story isn't clear enough, so they take a break {30}. Now, let's see what subtly changes in the story {31-32}, so that it is no longer, because Officer #1 shot, rather, he was going to shoot, anyway. Can't leave your buddy out to dry, alone.
I'd like to go back to the point where I'm getting out of my truck. After Mr. Finicum exited the vehicle, and I had seen him stick his hand in his coat once as he was coming out of the vehicle, and as I was exiting my vehicle and moving to a position to cover Mr. Finicum and could see OFFICER NO. 3, you know, 10, 15 feet to his left, and then OFFICER NO. 1 to my right, I recognized that OFFICER NO. 3 was in a very dangerous position, and he was exposed to the white truck as well as Mr. Finicum, and as I pulled my rifle up to cover Mr. Finicum, while this is going on, I'm seeing him turn and stick his hand into his coat again, as I previously stated to what I believed, to grab a pistol, and at that point I believe that if I didn't engage Mr. Finicum, that OFFICER NO. 3 was in a very close proximity and probably would have been shot, and that's what was going through my mind, is that OFFICER NO. 3 was in a very bad spot.
And I didn't want to wait - all these things cross your mind. I didn't want to wait for him to bring out a firearm, because I knew that by the time that I was able to recognize that and deal with it, that he could have very likely have shot OFFICER NO. 3.
So as I was bringing my rifle up, I had a scope on the rifle, which is a one by six power, and I had it on one power, so I had a wide field of view, and as I brought the scope up and put the cross hairs on Mr. Finicum's back, while I'm seeing him struggle with something in his coat, I had made a decision at that point that I'm going to fire my rifle, and had gone through the process of taking it off safe and started -- and had my finger going to the trigger and was starting to squeeze it when OFFICER NO. 1 had fired, and so I was already in the process of firing my rifle at that point, and was just a second behind OFFICER NO. 1 on that, or whatever it was. I don't know.
Later, he, again, clarifies why he shot {33}, when he says, "But I had made that determination and was in -- going -- had my finger on the trigger and was starting to squeeze the trigger when he [Officer #1] fired."
Gary Hunt was a Professional Land Surveyor. Having been the County Surveyor for Orange County, Florida from 1974 to 1978, he began private practice in 1978 and continued as such until 1993, when events in Waco, Texas caused him to leave his business in pursuit of restoring the Constitution.
In 1989, he began researching, investigating and studying history, law and events where the government was “pointing its guns in the wrong direction”. He began publishing a patriot newspaper, “Outpost of Freedom”, in February 1993.
Since that time, he has investigated numerous occurrences, including, Waco, the Murder of Michael Hill, Ohio Militia Chaplain, Oklahoma City Bombing, and other events. He has attended the sites to investigate the events, and has reported on his investigations.
He has continued to report on his findings on the Internet, as well as write articles about other current events; about the history of the Revolutionary era; and the founding documents.
