The silence on the airwaves is deafening.
FBI Apologizes for Mistaken Shooting
by The Associated Press
March 9, 2002
The FBI apologized Wednesday for the shooting of an unarmed man by agents searching for a bank robber but gave little details about the incident.
"Let me express our sincere sorrow for this unfortunate accident," said Lynne Hunt, the agent in charge of the FBI's Baltimore office. "We will do everything necessary to complete a full investigation of the facts."
Joseph Schultz, 20, was shot Friday afternoon in the face after the car his girlfriend was driving was pulled over. His attorney said afterward that Schultz may have been shot while reaching for the seat belt after he was ordered out of the car.
Hunt said she would not give any details on what led to the incident while a shooting review team is investigating.
Hunt said the car Schultz and his girlfriend were in was similar to that of a suspected bank robber that FBI agents were pursuing. Schultz and his girlfriend also had similar characteristics to the suspect and his companion.
Meanwhile, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he would make sure the FBI gives a full explanation of the incident.
He criticized statements an anonymous FBI official made to The Washington Post saying that Schultz made a "threatening" move before he was shot.
"This is the kind of premature spin and rush to judgment that Director (Robert) Mueller should root and stop," he said, referring to the FBI's top official.
Hunt said her department was not covering anything up.
Shootings by FBI agents are very rare. Last year, there were only 11 intentional shootings by agents nationwide, three of which involved dogs, Hunt said.
Schultz, of Pasadena, remained in serious but stable condition Wednesday at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center with a shattered right cheek and jaw. Family members said he spoke for the first time since the shooting, saying he thought he was going to die after he was shot.
Schultz was riding with his girlfriend, Krissy Harkum, 16, when they were pulled over at 6 pm Friday in Pasadena by four FBI agents looking for a bank robber.
The FBI has said little about what happened next except that Harkum and Schultz had matched some of the characteristics of the robbery suspect.
Hunt would not identify the agent who fired an M-4 rifle at Schultz, saying it was FBI policy not to give out names.
But an attorney for Schultz's family said agents approached the car with rifles drawn and ordered the two out of the vehicle. Schultz was complying with that order when he was shot, said Joseph C. Asensio. Agents then pulled Schultz and Harkum from the car and handcuffed them before calling a helicopter to take Schultz to the hospital.
The FBI arrested the alleged bank robber they were looking for on Sunday. Michael Blottenberger is charged with robbing an Allfirst branch bank Feb. 20. Hunt said his car was similar to Harkum's and that Blottenberger also had a female companion in his car.
The agent who shot Schultz has been temporarily reassigned at his own request.
FBI policy allows agents to use lethal force if they believe a suspect is about to place them in "imminent danger," Hunt said. She would not say if this incident met that criteria.
Hunt said she apologized to Schultz through Asensio and to Harkum's father, Joseph Harkum.
Joseph Harkum would not comment Wednesday.