Posted on 01/29/2016 9:11:08 AM PST by Jeff Head
I have placed 42 still photos from the FBI video of the apprehension of the Bundy brothers and the individuals with them in Oregon in the very early morning hours of January 27, 2016, where Lavoy Finicum, one of the people protesting with the Bundys, was killed. All of those photos are on the following Flickr album:
Flickr Album: The Death of Lavoy Finicum
The video that was released by the FBI, showing the entire episode from the point of view of an unmanned drone which was circling overhead, can be found on YouTbue here:
FBI Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAGxDWKrjPQ
It is a hard video to watch. Lavoy Finicum was a successful rancher in his mid fifties from Arizona, a father of eleven children, and a grandfather of numerous grand children. He was paasionate about the United states, its constitution, and his liberty and that of his family and fiends...and all Americans.
I am aware of, and am sympathetic to the issues that the Bundys, LAvoy, and the others raised. There is broad over reach by the Federal Government when it comes to property rights and other issues in the nation, and in the Intermountain West specifically. I was personally very involved in a similar incident at Klamath Falls, OR, in early 2001 that extended through the summer there. In our case we were not armed, but we were face to face with federal lawn enforcement who were.
In this case, the Bundys and those with them had occupied a Wildlife Refuge that was closed for the Winter near Burns Oregon. Thye were armed but indicated ovr and over that they sought no violence, but would protect themselves. They had been invited to a meeting in John Day Oregon, about 70 miles from where they were located, to meet with a sympathetic Sheriff there and other supporters. There are reports...that have not been confirmed...that they had been offered safe passage to go to that meeting. This would not be surprising because they had been allowed to come and go to and aattend other meetings in the area to that point.
A little after 12:25 AM, as the two cars containing eight of the group (a Jeep in the back with Ammon Bundy, the group's leader in the back, and a white four door pickup truck driven by Lavoy Finicum and including Ammon's brother in the front) passed a side road. In th epciture you can see several things right away that put to rest the bizarre notion advanced by the Sheriff in Harney County and the FBI that the Oregon Highway Patrol made a routine traffic stop of these vehicles.
At that point we see from the video that an aircraft, likely, an unmanned drone (UAV) with obvious infrared surveillance capabilities (this wa sjuts after midnight), was in the air in that remote area. Since when does such an aircraft patrol remote areas of Oregon? In addition, as the two cars pass the side road, you can see nine or ten State and Federal vehicles lined up on the side road waiting for them to pass. Since when are noine or ten Federal vechilces parked on a side road in remote Oregon just wainting for a routine traffic issue?
This was not routine. This was an ambush where the Bundys were lured out of the refuge and ewas set up to capture them. It speaks to betrayal, by the Sheriff, by the FBI, and probably by someone within the Bundy group.
Within a minute and a half both cars are pulled over. The video focuses on the lead car, but we know that after being stopped, the trailing car was approached and the three men in that car, including Ammon Bundy were peacefully taken into custody.
By then it had been several minutes. Before the officers, who can be seen with weapons drawn and surrounding their own vehicles behind the lead pickup truck can make specific demands of Finicum's vehicle (apparently they were waiting fo word that the other vehcile had beens secured before proceeding), Lavoy Finicum decides to rapidly drives away. It was a fateful...and ultimately fatal, decision.
A pursuit ensues.
It is not what you would call a hot pursuit. It does not appear that any shots were fired. You can clearly see the back window of the topper on the truck and its front windshield before it leaves and they are intact. The chaser vehicle is several seconds behind them.
Why? Because a mile up the road, as the video shows, law enforcement had already established a road block just in case. Three cars wait there, with approximately ten individuals.
As Lavoy approaches, he immediately veers to his left to try and pass. One of the law enforcement personnel gets out of one of the vehicles and positions himself next to the road, I am sure at the edge of the pavement, so that Lavoy would veer further into the snow. This was a dangerous move. It all happened in just 2-3 seconds. Finicum does veer further off the road onto the shoulder and into the snow which is piled up on the side of the road.
His vehicle comes to a rest, stuck in the snow drift at 12:34:53.
As Lavoy gets out, the law enforcement vehicle chasing them approaches the road block.
Lavoy by then is away the vehcile and has his hands up and is approached by one officer to the right of the picture who has a weapon drawn at 12:34:58.
Lavoy appears to reach for to his side, towards his his hip at 12:25:02. It does not appear that the law officer shoots. Some people believe the law officer had tased Lavoy at that point and that is why he appeared to reach down. We simply cannot tell from the video.
Another officer approaches Lavoy on the left at 12:35:03, from out of the trees, and Lavoy turns toward him.
Again, at this point, Lavoy appears to reach down at 12:35:05 as that officer extends his left arm and hand toward him.
Was Lavoy tased there? We cannot say from this video. Whatever the case, immediately after reaching down this second time, Lavoy appears to be shot at 12:35:06 by the pofficer to the left.
He then falls to the ground at 12:35:07. Except for one brief movement of his arm, Lavoy does not move again.
I do not see evidence in the video that he is shot multiple times after being down. I do see the officers lower their weapons and walk around him, keeping their eyes on him as they go to their vehicles to continue the apprehension of the other three people in the truck.
For the next several minutes several things occur. You see at least three flash bangs go off. One above and behind the truck at 12:35:27, another right next to the truck at 12:35:32, and a third in the air in front of the truck as 12:35:33. Here's the one going off to the side of the truck at 12:35:32.
Looking at the windows, you see what might be one or two bullet holes in the front window at 12:36:36...but it is hard to say. It certainly has not been shot out. The same is true for the rear window. Compare the pcitures here and on Flickr to the earlier ones showing those windows (front and rear) ealrier when there had been no shooting. You can see the same things sitting on the dash.
At 12:40:45, the second person (Ammon's brother) is getting out with his hands raised. Apparently he had been wounded in the arm by gunfire...either directed a Lavoy earlier, or directed at the vehicle at some point.
A picture soon after taht, at 12:41:13, makes it clear that the topper window on that side is shot out, and the back seat passenger window on that side has also either been shot out or rolled down.
At 12:42:55 the next person exits the vehicle and is then secured.
By 12:47:00 all three are out and it is then that the officers approach Lavoy's body. 12 minutes after he had been shot.
Once officer kneels down and removes Lavoy’s hat on the video, letting it fall to the snow. He appears to call another officer over who kneels down and takes a look at Lavoy too. I presume at this point they determined that he had died.
There are many who, in the emotion and anger of the moment, are calling this an assassination. As a person who has been on the front line in a similar incident, I honestly cannot say that it appears that way at all.
They Bundy’s vehicles were stopped. Lavoy, for whatever reason, chose to drive away from law enforcement who had stopped him. When reaching the road block a mile or so up the road about a minute, or a little more later, he tried to go around it through the snow.
One officer was put in mortal danger when he attempted to position himself on the pavement next to the road and force Lavoy further off. This all happened in about two seconds. I am sure Lavoy did not see that officer when he veered to the side, and it is clear that he made no attempt to run the man down. Rather, he veered further into the snow...which I believe was the officer's intent, and got stuck.
Lavoy immediately exited the truck. Though most of the time he had his arms raised, he did reach down to his side twice. Was he tased and that caused it. We simply do not know. At that point it was a mortally dangerous situation. In such a tense standoff, where law enforcement believes you are armed and dangerous, anything but getting down and spread eagled is a recipe for disaster.
What most certainly can be argued, and should be argued, is whether any of this takedown was necessary at all.
To that point the Bundys had not endangered anyone. They had not attempted to attack or threaten law enforcement. They had been allowed to come and go to various meetings...and apparently were supposed to be allowed to go to the one in John Day they were headed towards.
If they had been allowed to do so, one man would not be dad...a 56 year-old man, father of eleven, grandfather of numerous more, and a successful rancher from Arizona, and another man would not be wounded.
I hope and pray that the court proceedings focus on that. As with Ruby Ridge ad Waco, irrespective of whatever minor infractions, I believe we will all find again, that it was unnecessary and that lives were lost and people were killed that should have gone on living.
And the protests against the Federal encroachment will continue...and I hope they do, and I hope that more people are made aware of it and get involved...so that these people, including Lavoy, will not have died in vain.
Jeff Head
Idaho, USA
January 29, 2016
See the following links for some of my "straight talk" messages to all Americans:
The Stand at Klamath Falls
My Message on Islamic Terrorism
The Boston Marathon Terror Bombing
Sharia Law must be outlawed in the United States
Fast & Furios and the Obama Administration
Mass Shootings and Gun Control
Black and Latino Americans: For God's Sake Wake Up!
Ferguson Missouri and False Narratives
Secure our Southern Border
My Oath to the Constitution as a US Citizen
As I understand it, the blacked out areas on the video are associated with the drone and information that might be used by those seeking to jam or defeat the drone.
FYI.
This might be the most important happening since Bundy’s ranch.
The US either participated in an unnecessary killing or they participated in an intentional or negligent killing.
It’s election season, Iowa is Monday, and emotions are totally focused on that.
This article is part of the record that must be preserved.
BTTT Good work Jeff...
Thank you for doing this Jeff.
A good, well reasoned and balanced approach given the information available. A key point will be why the victim was reaching down to his waist. If he had been shot or tased, then the use of deadly force will be difficult to justify. If he had not, then clearly the story changes.
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Well said.
i’ve reviewed the film. there is a question mark in my mind as to if the second ‘reach’ with the right hand was an involuntary response to being shot. what is necessary is audio to link the timing of the shots fired to his arm actions.
Was Lavoy carrying? If he was, was the weapon in his waistband? In a holster?
[[They Bundy’s vehicles were stopped. Lavoy, for whatever reason, chose to drive away from law enforcement who had stopped him.]]
According to the witness who was in the vehicle, the reason was that the vehicle was fired on while stopped and while the driver’s hands were outside the vehicle if I recall right- anyone would have ‘chosen’ to drive away at that point- according ot the witness, no shots were ever fired by those In the vehicle- but plenty were shot at them- miraculously missing everyone In the vehicle-
Thanks Jeff
I'm on the ranchers' side in the land fight.
It unfortunately looks like Lavoy got himself killed by driving at the roadblock instead of stopping, jumping out and acting erratically and reaching toward his coat rather than being still and keeping his hands up or just staying in the car.
Lavoy tried to bust through the roadblock by leaving the road. He was driving fast right at the vehicles until the last second. That's when the shooting began as Lavoy was driving right at them. It's terrible that he was killed but if you look at the progression (tried to elude, tried to bust by roadblock, jumped from car and probably ignored orders, reached for coat) Lavoy blew it.
One issue that needs resolution is that it appears that he was pretty much shot in the back. While this would look bad, if Lavoy was drawing from a holster on his left side, that officer would have the best vantage point for that. Not saying that’s what happened...lots of curious things and curious stories by the gov here...
Why didn’t he just stop?
[[The US either participated in an unnecessary killing or they participated in an intentional or negligent killing.]]
What I find striking is that police and FBI in fuergeson and other ‘hot spots’ around the country were given the ‘stand down’ orders likely by the president- but in this case there was no such stand down order even though Bundy’s group wasn’t anywhere near as violent as those in fuergeson and the wallstreet occupations etc
Full detailed statement:
http://www.mycentraloregon.com/2016/01/28/fbi-addresses-fatal-shooting-of-lavoy-finicum/
“He did have a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun in that pocket.”
I will study this.
Prayers up for the Finicum family.
Weapon reported to be in an inside coat pocket, left side I believe. Of course the cops didn’t know where the weapon might be but they knew he was probably armed as he had advertised the fact and said he wouldn’t be taken alive if cops tried to arrest him. He was right.
I think Lavoy made a terrible string of mistakes. He had several opportunities to defuse the situation and kept escalating it instead.
Was Lavoy left or right handed?
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