The trooper, a member of the state police SWAT team identified in court
papers only as "Officer 1,'' was involved in at least two unrelated
fatal shootings of civilians before the Finicum encounter, according to
lawyers for FBI agent W. Joseph Astarita.
Ammon Bundy writes June 13, 2018:
If the Police Officer who killed LaVoy also shot at him while his
hands were raised while first exiting the truck, would it reveal that
their intent to kill LaVoy had nothing to do with weather or not he
lowered his hand toward his jacket? Especially if the officer shot 3
bullets at him the first time while his hands were raised?#justiceforlavoy
“Lawyers for an indicted FBI agent suggest in court papers that one of
the state troopers who shot and killed Oregon refuge occupation
spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum may have fired the two earlier shots
at Finicum as he emerged from his truck at a police roadblock.”
He shared the following article from the Oregonian-
Lawyers for an indicted FBI agent suggest in court papers that one of
the state troopers who shot and killed Oregon refuge occupation
spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum may have fired the two earlier shots
at Finicum as he emerged from his truck at a police roadblock.
The government has refused to provide documents to the defense about
those past shootings despite repeated requests, the agent's lawyers
said. Astarita's lawyers are now asking a judge to compel the
prosecution team to release the material.
"Such evidence could potentially reveal a pattern of behavior that
might shed light on what Officer 1 did on January 26, 2016, and why he
may not have been truthful about that conduct in the days and weeks that
followed,'' defense lawyer Tyler Francis wrote in a motion filed this
week in U.S. District Court in Portland.
The motion reveals a theory of Astarita's defense lawyers intended to
cast doubt on the prosecution's contention that the FBI agent fired at
Finicum and then lied about it. One of the bullets hit the roof of
Finicum's truck and the other went astray.
Battle of experts in case of indicted FBI Agent W. Joseph Astarita
Government
reconstruction of shooting scene places Astarita as the blue figure,
and “Officer 1,” or the Oregon State Police SWAT trooper as the orange
figure. Prosecutors said Astarita fired two shots at Finicum as he
emerged from his truck. Defense lawyers question if the trooper fired
those shots. The trooper did fire 3 shots at Finicum’s truck as it was
driving toward the police roadblock and then fired 2 shots striking
Finicum after his truck stopped, got out and walked away from the truck.
The trooper was one of two state police officers who shot and killed
Finicum.
Astaritia's lawyers contend the government "overlooked or
misinterpreted'' several key pieces of evidence, "strongly suggesting
that Officer 1 may have lied about his role in the incident, and that
Officer 1 had a clear motive to do so.''
Astarita, a member of the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team, has
pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment that charges him with
three counts of making a false statement and two counts of obstruction
of justice. His indictment followed grand jury testimony and analysis by
experts of the bullet trajectory from the shot that hit the roof of
Finicum's truck.
Astarita's lawyers said "Officer 1" was standing near Astarita when
someone fired twice - called "Shots 4 and 5" in court documents -- at
Finicum as he emerged from his truck when police arrested the leaders of
the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
The trooper had fired three shots as Finicum was driving toward the
police roadblock, striking Finicum's truck in the front hood, center
grill and driver's side mirror. The trooper denied firing the next two
shots, "Shots 4 and 5," as Finicum emerged from his truck, but he may
have had a motive for the denial because moments later he fired other
shots that struck and killed Finicum, Astarita's lawyers contend.
Government’s reconstruction of shooting scene
Prosecutors
say FBI Agent W. Joseph Astarita was standing beside the open passenger
door of a white truck across from occupation spokesman Robert “LaVoy”
Finicum’s truck when he fired two shots from his rifle, one striking the
roof of Finicum’s truck. Astarita has denied firing any gunshots.
"If Officer 1 had initiated the use of deadly force by firing Shots 4
& 5 at Finicum just seconds earlier, his self-defense claim would
obviously have been more difficult to establish,'' Francis wrote in the
motion. "Officer 1's denial would be even less credible - substantially
so - if he had a history of using deadly force in similarly questionable
circumstances.''
"Officer 1'' was one of two state troopers who fatally shot Finicum
as he was reaching inside his jacket, police said. Investigators said
Finicum had a loaded handgun in an inner pocket.
Astarita's lawyers first asked for files from the different police
agencies that make up the Tri-County Major Incident Team, which helped
investigate the shooting, in a letter to prosecutors in July 2017. The
defense sent another letter in September, specifically asking that the
government produce "all documents regarding the involvement of (Officer
1) in any prior officer involved shooting.''
By December, the government told Astarita's lawyers that it had
reviewed documents on the trooper's prior officer-involved shootings but
didn't believe they had to be shared under the Brady rule.
The landmark 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brady v. Maryland says
prosecutors have a duty to turn over information that might be
favorable to defense attorneys in a case.
Top of LaVoy's truck bullet hole.
Prosecutors don't believe the trooper's prior shootings are relevant in the Astarita case, but Astarita's lawyers disagree.
Prosecutors have argued that no one other than Astarita could have
fired the shots as Finicum emerged from his pickup, and that he was the
only person standing in a stationary, "combat-ready stance'' with a
weapon trained on Finicum's truck when the two critical shots in
question were fired. They've said the state trooper was in motion,
moving around at the time.
Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson, whose office led the shooting
investigation, said that the Oregon state police trooper, or "Officer
1,'' told investigators he fired shots at Finicum's truck as it was
heading toward the roadblock, and then he fired after Finicum had walked
away from his truck and reached into his jacket.
Investigators examined the trooper's rifle magazine, and the evidence was consistent with the trooper's statement, Nelson said.
Yet Astarita's lawyers argue they should be entitled to review records on the trooper's previous shootings.
"Evidence demonstrating that an individual other than the accused had
a motive to lie to the police in statements impacting an investigation
is plainly exculpatory, particularly where that witness also had the
opportunity and means to commit the underlying act in
question,'' Francis wrote in court papers. "Records relating to Officer
1's prior shootings fall squarely into this category.''
Bullet impact on the roof of Robert ‘LaVoy’ Finicum’s truck
Forensic
investigators have dubbed the bullet impact to the roof of Robert
‘LaVoy’ Finicum’s truck as Impact “W.” It’s the bullet strike that FBI
Agent W. Joseph Astarita is accused of firing, but then denying he did.
The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office and state police have declined
to identify the troopers who fatally shot Finicum. The agencies have
turned down repeated public records requests seeking the names, citing
threats against the troopers. Lawyers in the Astarita case have the troopers' names but they're under a court protective order. Nelson said the investigation into the shooting that day is
continuing, with additional interviews, "so we make sure we have an
absolute accounting of what occurred.''
Cones showing bullet trajectory from bullet strike to roof
Prosecutors
say indicted FBI Agent W. Joseph Astarita is the figure in blue, and
the only one who could have fired the shot that hit the roof of
Finicum’s truck.
Defense challenges government’s reconstruction
Astarita’s
lawyer Robert Cary and a defense expert say the aerial video from the
FBI is so blurry and fuzzy, and impossible to rely on to determine where
the agent was standing.
Government’s placement of officers and vehicles at shooting scene
A
government expert’s placement of officers and FBI agents at the scene of
the Jan. 26, 2016 shooting. The blue figure is indicted FBI Agent W.
Joseph Astarita, and the orange figure is an Oregon State Police SWAT
team member.
Government expert Michael Haag’s bullet trajectory analysis
The
green line shows government forensic expert Michael Haag’s bullet
trajectory analysis from the bullet hole on the roof of occupation
spokesman Robert “LaVoy” Finicum’s truck, fired on Jan. 26, 2016. The
green line leads to the area where the bullet was fired from, according
to Haag.
Government’s placement of officers and vehicles at shooting scene
A
government expert’s placement of officers and FBI agents at the scene
of the Jan. 26, 2016 shooting. The blue figure is indicted FBI Agent W.
Joseph Astarita, and the orange figure is an Oregon State Police SWAT
team member.
It wasn't to many years ago when the mainstream media accused Sarah Palin and others of "putting a target on the back" of individuals while showing amap of the United States with "cross hairs" on swing districts for the 2012 election in which the "blamestream media" takes a flying leap accusing Palin of bringing about the shooting in Arizona, where a Second Amendment champion Judge was killed and Gabrielle Giffords was wounded, setting the stage, to once more, restrict our God given right to protect our lives, liberty and property. Palin "rejected criticism of the map, and sought to cast the criticism as a broader indictment of the basic rights of free speech of all political persuasions and the acts, like the shooting in Arizona, begin and end with the criminals who commit them."
UPDATE-Four years later things have escalated! Enter the Citizens For Constitutional Freedom. After the Harney County Oregon rally in support of the Hammond men, who were scheduled to report to serve a sentence for domestic terrorism for starting a backfire to save their property and business, and in which they had already served time, after concluding the rally drove 35 miles out of town to the Malheur Refuge, where they found the doors unlocked, the keys on the desk and the lights on. It was part of a citizens stand to bring about action to a list of grievances brought to the attention of the Oregon city, county and state that fell on deaf ears. They tired the state department route of "letter writing" and it went unheeded. They had face to face meetings with political officials including Sheriff Ward, they were brushed off, so they took to the mic. It's "what" they said that led to the government amassing a standing army to defeat them by murdering LaVoy Finicum and rounding up every person with a mouth from Bunkerville Nevada, Recapture Canyon Utah, Harney County Oregon .
The members of the Citizens For Constitutional Freedom took time away from their families and employment to travel to Oregon from place to place to teach the Constitution including private property rights, the responsibility of the local sheriff, unconstitutional courts and tyranny by alphabet agencies. These same things were taught in Utah and Bunkerville. The group helped Harney County institute their constitutional right to form the Committee of Safety, which has helped to protect the residents God given rights. The committee was established to negotiate and coordinate between the county elected and appointed representatives in land use issues among others. They boldly asked the government and it's agencies to prove their claims to land via the constitution.
Although the C4CF group worked tirelessly to teach the people, make a record of their grievances and improve the grounds of the wildlife refuge their mission was twisted by the main stream media, local officials and federal authorities including congressmen and senators, calling their words a "virus" labeling them as "terrorists" and Mormon bashing." The media, even now, continues to "goad" them into making threats and inflames the public as they refer to the protesters as "brandishing firearms" and using the term "armed occupiers". Although the groups spoke to law enforcement many times, the only people who were hostile and used threats and force were the government and it's agencies. Just mentioning the constitution is cause for getting you thrown out of a public meeting!
It started with a flicker and became a roaring brush fire the BLM and USFW service would be proud of, and This is why the constitutionalists had to be "snuffed out!" I will use the "up close and personal" example of Pete Santilli for this, but as Americans, we have just "assumed" our founding and our founding documents. We know of them, but not about them. Pete was in the U.S. Military for several years. He swore an oath to the Constitution including defending it "against enemies foreign and domestic". According to Pete, he hadn't actually read the Constitution, it wasn't until he showed up to report on the events going on in Bunkerville Nevada where the Bureau Of Land Management was armed to the teeth sicking dogs on people, tasing people and throwing people to the ground and assaulting people with dump trucks and motor vehicles that he really understood it. It was during this time that he read the Constitution for the first time. It was because of the inspirational knowledge of the Constitution Pete traveled to Bunkerville and Burns. He learned very deeply the purpose of "Article 1 Section 8 Clause 17" and could repeat it by heart and did so many times.
It is sad to say, but the "dumbing down of America" has been going on for decades now. Generations have had our history hidden from us. We have not been privileged to know intimately our founding fathers and the documents they produced. The reason is sinister! It's the same reason they don't want you living outside the city limits anymore. In the city you can't see the stars. You can't gaze into the heavens and contemplate the majesty that created it. You go about your life unaware of your place in the grand scheme of things. You don't have a second thought that there is anyone greater than you. You just go about your life distracted by all the shinny objects in your immediate view. This is why the Wild-lands Project is so dangerous in my eyes. "Cut off our view of the heavens, and you cut off any contemplation of heaven and it's heavenly influences". God will speak to us if we let Him and he will let us feel His love, and this is dangerous as far as the opposition is concerned, and this opposition is Satanic! This is why our founding has been hidden from us! Because, whenever it is heard it inspires! It is like learning of God's plan for us for the first time. That God loves us. He gave us the ten commandments, a simple plan to help our earthly experience become more enjoyable. Jehovah suffered on the cross that we might live again...awe-inspiring! When the people of this nation learn the principles of our founding it opens a whole new world for us, because it is an inspired founding. The founding father's will even tell you that! Although they referred to it as "Providence", they were referencing God. They reverenced His name so much they rarely used it. This is what was happening in Burns/Harney County Oregon. If you've seen any of the meetings in which these principles were taught you could feel it and see it in the people themselves. These meetings were inspiring. There was a spirit of comradery, to put a name to it. People lingered at these places because learning the principles gives you a glimpse of heaven. Men want to be free! Freedom is a God-given principle. That freedom includes the right to life, liberty and property, including your thoughts and the works of your hands. When you learn these things your mind soars with the possibilities, it is empowering, and that is dangerous to the opposition, and that is why this "teaching" had to be stopped, because it was spreading to the neighboring County of Grant, and there were hundreds of people waiting to have their minds expanded with the spirit of the Constitution. And so, a standing army mounted.
Despite the fact that the Citizens For Constitutional Freedom pointed guns at no one, and in many cases were un-armed, frequented town to purchase meals and supplies, meet with the towns people etc. The government, with help from the press, decided to perpetuate a fraud on anyone watching. This included closing down schools, using one as the FBI operations center, taking over the local airport and erecting military blockades around them and the county courthouse and sheriff's department. Although the schools were 35 miles from the protest site, the schools in town were closed yet within a day or so the closest school just a few miles distance from the refuge was open as the parents determined they were in no danger. Hundreds of FBI/Military personnel and equipment was emmassed in a matter of weeks. Special medical teams took over the local hospital and soon bear-cat, m-wraps and black-hawks were deployed. The people at the refuge were subject to constant surveillance from drones, planes and closed circuit cameras including manipulation of wireless communications. And, although many visiting the refuge for more than a day camped outside the refuge boundaries, it was reported that is was the FBI/Military who was encamped on the refuge land. If there was any fear in town, it was visibly evident it was because of the law enforcement, FBI, Military presence. They were all decked out in their "battle rattle" including automatic "long-guns", finger on the trigger mind you, even when unarmed individuals approached them! It was overkill! I believe that if they hadn't created the narrative that the protesters were acting as they themselves were demonstrating, there would never have been an ambush by a standing army which resulted in LaVoy Finicum's assassination and the other members of the group being detained and whisked off to Portland, LATER being charged. A "kill stop" on a blind curve in a portion of the canyon with no internet access heavily wooded, line of sight tree trimming by snowmobile and chainsaws in preparation, when less than a half mile from the ambush was a long level straightaway with no trees within a half mile from the side of the road.
Let's get something strait. It is the words of government officials that has inflamed violence and bloodshed and "kept individuals from doing their jobs". It is their behavior that has devastated the lives of individuals across the west. And it is their need for revenge that spurs their round up of anyone who spoke a word, held a sign or a microphone or dared to take a picture or video of the misconduct of government and their lawless agencies. Retribution is flowing straight from the top including Valarie Jarrett/Obama, Harry Reid, Ron Wyden, Kate Brown, Dan Love, Greg Bretzing , Niel Kornze, Steve Grasty, David Ward and Amanda Marshall among others. That is why law abiding, freedom loving citizens continue to be rounded up across the United States, and it's getting worse! These are the people armed to the teeth with malicious intent. These are the people imprisoning people without cause and trampling their constitutional rights restricting their movements and limiting their speech, labeling them terrorists all for the gratification of the elite with a "that'll teach them" mentality. They are the bullies in this whole situation where the American people are asserting their rights and asking the government to prove they have any! The truth is, the citizens are holding the deeds, holding the rights, and are tired of footing the bill to have the government and it's agencies tell them what to do, when to do it and, how to do it. Some like to call the ranchers "welfare ranchers", well they're anything but! These ranchers just want to be left alone to enjoy their liberty they were born with, and our Constitution protects. These people aren't afraid of hard work like the bureaucrats and their front groups. They just want the freedom to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", but King George rules again! It's time once again, to declare our independence and stand, let's all stand together. We can't have the ruling elite dancing on the graves of our fellow patriots.
