Amid conflicting reports, officials release aerial footage of shootout with spokesman of militia occupying wildlife refuge ‘in the interest of transparency’

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

LaVoy Finicum, the Oregon militia spokesman killed by law enforcement officials on a remote highway, was armed with a handgun and reached for his pocket before he was shot, according to the FBI, which shared blurry video footage of the shooting on Thursday night.

Finicum, a key leader of the armed occupation at the Malheur national wildlife refuge in rural Harney County, was traveling with Ammon Bundy and several other militiamen on Tuesday afternoon outside of the town of Burns when troopers with the Oregon state police (OSP) and federal officials stopped them.

The footage, taken from an FBI plane flying above, shows a white truck that police say was driven by Finicum speeding away from police.

“He nearly hit an FBI agent,” Greg Bretzing, FBI special agent, told reporters at a news conference in Burns while he showed the footage.

It’s difficult to discern what happened in the final moments before troopers shot Finicum, a 55-year-old Arizona resident. The video shows the vehicle speeding toward a blockade of three law enforcement cars.

The truck got stuck in the snow, and Finicum exited from the driver’s seat with his hands initially in the air. Surrounded by troopers on either side, Finicum’s hands appeared to reach down toward his waist just before officers fired shots.

Finicum fell to the ground and laid motionless in the snow.

Bretzing said the video in its entirety showed Finicum was repeatedly refusing to comply with officials’ orders.

“Finicum reaches his right hand toward a pocket on the left inside portion of his jacket. He did have a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun in that pocket,” Bretzing said. “At this time, OSP troopers shot Finicum.”

He later added: “It was a reckless action that resulted in consequences.”

Bretzing said he was showing the video to counter “inaccurate” and “inflammatory” claims about the shooting: “We feel it is necessary to show the whole thing unedited in the interest of transparency.”

Bundy and Finicum’s loved ones have said the Arizona rancher was shot in cold blood and that the shooting was a targeted setup.

Reached by phone Thursday night, Cliven Bundy – who is Ammon’s father and the Nevada rancher who led a 2014 standoff with the federal government – said he had watched the FBI footage multiple times and that it seemed clear to him the fatal shooting was unnecessary and aggressive.

“It looks like he was assassinated to me,” Bundy said. “He’s got his hands up … I can’t see where he is reaching for his gun.”

Bundy, who became friends with Finicum in 2014 during the Nevada dispute with federal officials, said Finicum would never have fired at officers: “He was walking right in the open. That doesn’t look like somebody wanting to shoot.”

The militiamen, who had been occupying the wildlife refuge since 2 January, were on their way to a community meeting they planned to host outside of the federal compound when officials stopped them.

According to Bretzing’s account of the events – some of which is viewable on the grainy 30-minute video – the occupiers were driving two separate vehicles when they encountered law enforcement.

Ammon Bundy and militiaman Brian Cavalier were in a jeep with an unidentified driver, Bretzing said. The jeep stopped and those three exited without incident.

Finicum’s truck initially stopped as well. Bretzing said Ryan Payne, another high-profile militia leader, exited through the back of the vehicle – though it’s difficult to see in the footage. “You can see him with his hands up being approached by law enforcement officers,” said Bretzing.

After Finicum was shot, FBI officials deployed “flash bangs” to “disorient” other occupants that remained in the truck, according to Bretzing. Minutes later, the remaining passengers started leaving the car with their hands up, the video shows.

Ammon Bundy’s brother Ryan, occupier Shawna Cox, and a second woman who police did not identify all exited the truck.

The Bundy brothers, Cox, Cavalier and Payne were all arrested and charged with felony offenses of conspiracy to impede officers through the use of force, intimidation or threats. They had their first court appearance in Portland on Wednesday and have another hearing scheduled for Friday.

At the Thursday night news conference, Bretzing also confirmed that four holdouts remained at the Malheur refuge – despite the fact that Ammon Bundy has since urged the occupiers to go home.

Officials also narrowed their perimeter around the refuge on Thursday evening, but agents maintained roadblocks and blocked reporters from approaching the compound.

Bretzing said that since police established checkpoints early Wednesday morning, officials have allowed six people to leave the refuge without facing arrest.

Carol J Williams contributed reporting from Burns, Oregon.