Yeah, “pretext” came to my mind too, but you’d have to be semi-suicidal. What if there’s a stump or something under that snow and the vehicle veers...
It was really “close” on the LEO being / not being hit, as it was. If Finicum had hit the gas / deliberately swerved to try to hit the LEO, he might well have succeeded.
I need to see to see it on a hi-def screen when I’m rested.
I think I saw some puffs comes off the truck. Another scenario could be Finicum might have thought they were all going to be killed so he surrendered, or tried to.
One thing’s for sure, this wasn’t any Miami FBI shootout. I don’t think Bundy and company got a shot off. As the first blushes fade it looks like LEO’s Gone Wild.