WARNING: This video contains graphic content that may not be appropriate for all viewers. Discretion is advised.
CEDAR CITY –A video has been released Thursday by the FBI of the shooting death of Robert LaVoy Finicum, an Arizona rancher who became the spokesman for the occupiers of an Oregon wildlife refuge in recent weeks.
The FBI said they showed the video at a news conference to counter claims that Finicum, who was killed Tuesday on a remote road, allegedly did nothing to provoke officers.
According to an FBI news release, Finicum had a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun in his pocket and had attempted to reach for it on two different occasions before being shot by Oregon State Police.
The video shows Finicum appearing to touch both of his pockets with both hands but immediately puts his arms up in a surrender. The footage also shows a federal officer coming up behind Finicum from the woods. Finicum then turns around toward the officer, still with his hands up, at which time there is gunfire and Finicum falls into the snow.
During the same confrontation, the FBI and Oregon State Troopers arrested five main figures in the refuge occupation including Ammon Bundy, the group’s main leader.
The video, shot by the FBI from an airplane, shows a vehicle being driven by Bundy as it is stopped by police. A white truck driven by Finicum was also stopped but took off with officers in pursuit. The video shows Finicum’s vehicle going into a snowbank when encountering a roadblock.
“On at least two occasions, Finicum reaches his right hand toward a pocket on the left inside portion of his jacket,” said Greg Bretzing, special agent in charge for the FBI in Portland. “He did have a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun in the pocket,” he said.
Bretzing also said Finicum’s truck nearly hit a law enforcement officer before hitting the snowbank and coming to stop, which the video does confirm.
“Actions have consequences,” Bretzing said. “The FBI and OSP tried to effect these arrests peacefully.”
Not everyone sees it that way.
On the Bundy Ranch community Facebook page, supporters of the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge say Finicum’s death was cold-blooded murder.
“LaVoy placed himself in harms way to protect others in the vehicle,” a post on the Facebook community page reads. “He is a peacemaker who loves his neighbor … This cannot be America.”
A still image taken from the FBI video showing Finicum with his hands up, reads: “This is NOT a a man reaching for a gun. THIS is a man with hands up being executed because he is a patriot.”
The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office on Thursday confirmed the person shot in the Tuesday confrontation was Finicum, a 54-year-old father and husband from Cane Beds, Arizona.
Meanwhile, four occupiers remained at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, demanding assurances they would not be arrested.
The occupation by ranchers and others began Jan. 2 and at one point it was reported there were a couple of dozen people inside the refuge. But it has since been emptying out with the death of Finicum and Bundy’s arrest along with 10 others over the past few days.
Oregon Public Broadcasting spoke with those who remained and identified them as Fry, who is from Ohio; husband and wife Sean and Sandy Anderson of Idaho; and Jeff Banta of Nevada. Fry told the station that Sean Anderson faces a federal arrest warrant.
All 11 people under arrest have been charged with a felony count of conspiring to impede federal officers from carrying out their duties through force or intimidation. Three of the 11 were arrested Wednesday night when they left the refuge.
Ammon Bundy is the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a tense 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights.
The group came to the desert of eastern Oregon in the dead of winter to decry what it calls an overreach of government in the taking of private property for more public lands and to object to the prison sentences of two local ranchers who spent three months in prison after which an appellate judge sent them back again for five more years.
In a criminal complaint Wednesday, federal authorities said the armed group had explosives and night-vision goggles and was prepared to fight.
The charges against Bundy and others say that the refuge’s 16 employees have been prevented from reporting to work because of threats of violence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
St. George News Senior Reporter Mori Kessler contributed to this report.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews | @tracie_sullivan
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.
what did these idiots think would be the end to this? looks to me like he reached for something several times and his hands were not up when he went down, besides almost ramming a road block and putting everone’s lives at risk. let’s see how the kooks on here will defend his actions
You haven’t tried standing/moving in two feet of snow have you. Looks like to me he was attempting to keep his balance. Ramming a roadblock? Just what would you do if you encountered something in the road on a blind corner? I think he did well to avoid hitting anyone. This was an ambush plain and simple. If it isn’t then why was the cop hiding in the woods and basically shoots him in the back?
Arms go out for balance Gary, not to your waist.
yep
First of all, why did he exit the vehicle at all? This was quite obviously not a “blind” corner because you can clearly see the truck’s brake lights come on well before the roadblock, and the truck then straddles the center line for some distance. He obviously saw the roadblock from a considerable distance and attempted to go around it.
every kook on stgnews is now coming out of the woodwork. i love it
LOL ! I wonder what Al Sharpton thinks about this police shooting
TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT !
“The video shows Finicum appearing to touch both of his pockets with both hands but immediately puts his arms up in a surrender. The footage also shows a federal officer coming up behind Finicum from the woods. Finicum then turns around toward the officer, still with his hands up, at which time there is gunfire and Finicum falls into the snow.”
.
You need to rewatch the video Tracie. Hands were not in the air when shot; they were at his waist.
They should release all of the officers involved body cam and vehicles dash cam videos as well. Just a thought….
Agreed. Tracie is “known for her fairness and integrity as a reporter”, but apparently not for her ability to see the obvious in a video. First of all, Finicum does not put his hands “up” in the conventional sense. He clearly puts his hands out to the side, where he is obviously more able to grab a weapon (try to think this through from the mindset of an LEO). His gestures were, in no way, a clear sign of surrender. When confronted with armed LEO’s in a tense situation, your only intelligent move is to raise your hands all the way up and to freeze.
Just goes to show that I was wrong. They did release the video. They should release more videos to the public.
You’re always wrong
nah, not always, geeeeeze lighten up buddy
I’m not your buddy
Looking at other news sites, there are clearly some seriously mentally deficient people here in SW Utah that can’t see suicide by cop when it’s right in from of them. Just the evasion from the felony stop alone justifies the shooting. Furthermore Byan Hyde and Iron County Comissioner Miller should be proud for continuing to encite the local whack jobs by supporting these nut bags that picked up arms against their own nation. And if you want some good entertainment, go check out the Bundy Ranch Face Book Page. God help us, this country is imploding from within.
Delong… tossing around derogatory names makes you look like you are one or several of those names. Just saying…
first you can see the black ice or something that was put in the road, they were in a curve and couldn’t see the roadblock but left the right side and hit center when they hit that black oil or black ice (which was convienently put there either by God or man).. what was supposed to happen, were they supposed to hit that and roll???? cold wet icy road and sudden road block equals cars smashed and rolled everywhere.. (at which point they would have charged them with ramming police vehicles).. he dodged their vehicles and saved their lives.. and rammed his own into the snow.. lets recap.. they sat safely in their vehicles KNOWING either they were going to flip and roll in that black stuff on the highway so there was no concern of being rammed.. ORRR they knew these were good men who would not ram them and hurt them.. yet, they still feel they gotta shoot them… in the FACE? he had made threats AFTER he was told by an official (no one knows who) that the feds were done, and their lives were in danger (thanks oregon governor)… and so during the youtube blue tarp video with media a few days before.. lavoy said, basically, “don’t start no shooting and they’ll be no shooting” he went on to say, if you put a gun in someones face you are going to shoot them. that is the golden rule.. your never ever to point a gun at someone unless your going to shoot them. EVER. (now to recap, i took a gun class given by officers 15 years ago.. and YES that is exactly what they taught us.. no point ever point a gun unless your going to shoot it. thats how serious guns are,).. they pointed guns at him.. smdh.
Word salad. I know each of these words debbie but you have assembled them in a way that bewilders me.
Debbie, you have just been judged by Bammie’s inferior court of appeals; Curly, Moe, and Larry (aka Chris, …..Oddball, and idiot.
Well when it comes to oddball and idiot we already know what you are. so what’s your point stupid ?
wow, debbie, I’m trying to decipher what you wrote, but I’m at a loss. I hope you don’t speak the way you write.
Hey Debbie ! you’re one of them people that should never speak in public. LOL !
or on comment boards.. lol
Stabilized and zoomed 10 seconds of the shooting here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUzzrjBo_HU
Finicum has his hands at his waist for a full three seconds when he is shot. To my eyes he is clearly reaching for a gun.
Thanks Bender. I believe that the dude in the street coming toward him shot him and that’s why he’s stumbling and reaching. I think the dude in the trees wasn’t the first shot. Bundy in the white truck was hit, so clearly more than “one” shot was fired.
If your so passionate about this shooting, why not put the videos on an account in your name?
In prison, there is only one kind of bender.
Not my video Bub.
“In prison, there is only one kind of bender.” – I’ll take your word on that. No first hand prison experience myself.
and you know about “benders” in prison from personal experience?
Yep looks like a justifiable shooting to me ! I’m glad no law enforcement officers were hurt and I’m glad none of their vehicles were damaged.well done law enforcement. you just made the world a better place
I can believe you since looking at the butt end of a bear reminds you of your face.
Tracie Sullivan is getting to be as bad as Bryan Hyde. This isn’t a news story. Anyone who thinks this was murder needs to order more tinfoil.
“LaVoy placed himself in harms way to protect others in the vehicle”. By citing a Facebook post and then highlighting it visually in the article, it sure looks like the St George News is trying to make a martyr out of a pro-gun Arizona ‘cowboy’ who decided to ‘play guns’ under the guise of some kind of misguided patriotic effort to protect Americans’ rights. The journalism here, if you can call it that, is as irresponsible as LaVoy was to the family that the SGN claims he was ostensibly protecting. Nonsense.
I am pro-gun and I will protect my rights. Does that mean I need to be shot as well?
If you engage in the dangerous and illogical behavior of Finicum, then yes, you need to be shot as well.
No it doesn’t . but if mesanan got shot it would cleanse the world of stupidity and ignorance
That completely depends on what your definition of “protect my rights” is. But, yeah, you sound loony enough to confront law enforcement while armed and get shot. Glad I could help.
Doesn’t matter what type of behavior I engage in, should my rights be violated, I can assure you I will NOT be the one getting shot. Bender, how much more clearer does “protect my rights” need to be? Try and violate my rights and again, I assure you, I WILL NOT be the one getting shot. That’s pretty clear and simple. Would you NOT protect your rights?
If I shot everybody who violated my rights. There would be a lot of bloodshed….ladybug will never own a gun.
Message received loud and clear Ron. You’re a loony gun nut anxious to assert yourself by displaying and possibly discharging a firearm as soon as your panties get bunched up. I was never in doubt.
Hey ladybug ! you left out the Native American LOL !
Native Americans are the true minority. Keep it real!
Strange that the FBI only releases a video taken from their airplane. We all know that each AND every law enforcement officer, either local sheriffs and/or FBI (Feds) wore body cams. Also, each and every law enforcement vehicle that was there had dash cams as well. They should also release those videos as well. If not, why? because their proximity to Finicum will show MORE than they want to show? How about the body cam videos of the officers shooting at the truck? That should show some interesting footage.
The aerial footage is undoubtedly the best overall coverage of the event. Considering the orientations of the vehicles, the dash cams may not be of any value. If body cam footage is available, it will be released eventually, despite the insistence of you paranoid conspiracy nuts.
Where is the shootout that we heard from EVERY media outlet? I guess a video disrespectful to Muslims caused this tragedy. I am thinking that the law enforcement agencies reported to the media that there was a shootout. Before watching the video I was expecting to watch police and the protesters shooting at each other. I did not see a shoot out. I saw an ambush and a murder. I see a guy shot in the back by a police officer. I don’t see a gun in Finicum’s hand. I think the protest was a waste of time and a tragedy waiting to happen. It serves absolutely no purpose. However, that does not give law enforcement the right to murder these guys. Law enforcement was not in a position to need to protect themselves. They had a road block. They had officers placed in the woods. The guy was out of his truck and his hands were mostly in the air. He did pull his hands down to his stomach area several times. But he was obviously responding to commands (shouts from every direction), he was turning around. There was no gun, therefore no danger. He should have gotten down on his knees and put his hands in the area… immediately upon getting out of the truck. He caused his own demise by walking around. But that still does not give the right to law enforcement to assassinate him on the spot. What was his crime? Was he really a dangerous person? Has he killed people? Is he a drug dealer with a violent past? Also, the road block was suspicious… on a blind curve? Did they think we was going to be able to stop in time? That set up the entire thing to fail. That was absolutely stupid. I say there is enough fault to go around. It was a totally avoidable tragedy. Most of the responsibility of this tragedy falls upon Finicum. No doubt. He had all kinds of other options. But, law enforcement murdered him. And, the lied to media, claiming there was a shootout. There was no shootout. They gunned him down from behind. PERIOD.
“He should have gotten down on his knees and put his hands in the area… immediately upon getting out of the truck. He caused his own demise by walking around. ” You said all that you needed to right there.
You realize Hollywood gun play is not real? There are no fair gunfights. In the heat of an encounter people react as best they can. Evade the police at high speed, try to run a roadblock, almost run over an officer, jump and flee from your vehicle putting your hands up and then down to your waist several times… what do you think is going to happen? All this after vowing to die rather than go to jail while brandishing firearms. Hello McFly.
Defend away, Craig…Spin your fantasy about what happened. If these guys were so stupid as to think they would NOT be stopped on this little road trip after everything they’d done at the refuge for the past three weeks, they deserve everything that happened. Finicum had strutted around every day saying he would not be taken, that they were doing God’s work (b.s.), and that they’d be there for years. Meanwhile untold damage was being done to the refuge. How dumb was it to leave the refuge for a road trip after all that. He was the ONLY one who got out of either vehicle and he was the ONLY one who had said, in his thug-like way that he would never be taken alive. This was not a murder. He was trying to escape when he hit the snowbank. On one point, you are right – it was a totally avoidable tragedy. If Finicum and the Yahoo Patriot Band (they don’t play music) had kept his nose out of Oregon, obeyed the law from the get-go, this would not have happened.
The joke in Oregon is now that most of them are in jail, they’re whistling a different tune and will “rely on the courts.” These are the guys who were a week ago telling us all that they didn’t believe in the courts or anything else that didn’t fit their “Constitution.” They really are a laughing stock in Oregon. And elsewhere.
What is clear to me from the video is he was stumbling around in the snow with his hands raised and turning towards the feds on each side when they yelled at him. It’s clear his hands lowered when he was shot in the side by the fed snipers in the trees. It’s also clear they continued to shoot Mr. Finicum after he was incapacitated on the ground and the feds never attempted to render aid.
It is also clear that they were shooting at the vehicle before and after they murdered Mr. Finicum.
Release the unadulterated body cam videos.
Release the unadulterated body cam videos? Really? You and I both know that if they did, you would be on here saying that the government staged the videos after the fact or something. I would like to see the videos too but only because I like seeing criminals brought to justice.
The cowboy didn’t seem in a hurry to be pulling a gun out. Why did they not try to tazer him first? It’s a sad thing to see Americans at war with each other.
I agree sage, the FBI Agent was close enough to Tazer or just shoot him in the ass, Leg, Arm, Definitely alot of other Choices. Very Sad, Sad for the Family and even the FBI. Its on Him for the REST OF HIS DAYS.
Meanwhile, the Hammonds are still unlawfully imprisoned and their land is in the process of being stolen by the government.
Good . That’s where they belong
The Hammonds case most certainly needs to be reassessed, but what these guys did crossed the line, to say the least.
The Hammonds case most certainly needs to be reassessed, but what these guys did crossed the line, to say the least. The deceased should not be made a martyr, as he was clearly in the wrong.
Ponder this, conspiracy nuts. If our tyrannical federal government intended to murder Finicum in cold blood, why did they not murder the rest of his crew? Why not eliminate any eyewitnesses who could potentially contradict the “official” version of events? If our government is so evil and out of control, why did this whole episode drag on for the better part of a month? Seems to me, that a truly evil and tyrannical government would have marched on the refuge the first day and would have simply killed everyone. If you are trying to send a message of oppression to the “people”, that’s the obvious response. Virtually every government action throughout this whole affair screams of restraint. Not one action by any government agency here makes me fear for my liberty or personal safety.
Chris I could see you as someone who’d sell your soul for some paper chasing.
The sons of Judge Ann Aiken who re-sentenced the Hammonds in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Zach and Jake Klonoski (both attorneys) set up the most suspicious http://www.gohomemalheur.org/ campaign… Would this under the laws of the US be a Conflict of Interest? Add to that Jake was a law clerk for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and presently the Atty. Advisor for the DOJ in San Francisco. Brother Zach works as the Special Asst. to Mayor of Portland along with one Josh Alpert who for 7yrs. worked at Trust for Public Land – “The Trust for Public Land conveys land or easements to public agencies” that it buys from “willing landowners”.
Add to the fact when one researches the name/logo on Mr. Special Agent’s jacket, one finds more “Officers and Directors” with past associations to Oregon Steel Mills-now Russian owned EVRAZ which recently re-opened Portland plant, Attorney General Oregon DOJ, Northwest Natural Gas, and a US law firm with revenues of over 191 million! Why would these influential people with high profile pasts, now work for an outdoor clothing company? Was very awkward to see a press conference without proper official attire.
For a white collar criminal entity/agency/organization to be highly successful in their illegal business, they must have: 1) connects to collateral through big banking and/or foreign investors; 2) connections to real estate acquisitions of private, public, and governmental lands; and 3) high end representation from accounting, securities/equities and law firms. When one adds the governmental agency employees such as our LEO agencies, DOI/BLM, our court system/DOJ, politicians to the business; the players think they’ve fooled the public.
I believe the complex events that have unfolded over the last several years and have escalated to the ambush of a man who was, as the Klonoski boys put it, heavily armed “trespassers” who took control (trespass-misdemeanor) of the “empty headquarters” of the Malheur Refuge.
Never seen a campaign website where one makes a pledge without a link to submit the donations. SMH. But rather it collects personal information of the idiots who signed and submitted.
RIP Finicum! Will you please tell the ole school cowboys/cowgirls/ranchers to use some of that spiritual power up there, and make it rain on the corrupts parade and get this stuff settled in the favor of our younger American generations. Godspeed 🙂
Glad to see that you understand that Finicum is going straight to live at Jesus’s feet, along with the rest of the ole cowpokes. Ain’t no one live a purer life than a man who brandishes lethal weaponry, commits multiple felonies, directly disobeys the Prophet of his church and then tops it off with suicide by cop. If only we Mormons had sainthood. Whadda ya say you and me try do something Observer? Let’s start a petition to rename Cane Beds to St. LaVoy, Arizona!
You truly are dumb as a stump, observer. ” Why would these influential people with high profile pasts, now work for an outdoor clothing company?” You really don’t know a thing about corporate governance, do you? Influential, high profile people are exactly the kind of people who are named to the board of directors of a big name, local (to Oregon) company. Lord knows, you’d never be on anyone’s board. Amusing that your post is a reply to mine since you address not one point that I made. Maybe, you should get back to being the bender in prison. Apologies to Bender, our most excellent local poster.
this whole story is parallel to the boston tea party. A. they were being taxed and it was on land they were promised for generations that if they grew their ranches large and fed the nation they would be grandfathered in.. B. even if THEY were wrong, its alot of them that are wrong then. they sure believed it. C. they felt their american lands were being illegally obtained by brute gov’t force and that americans were losing their freedoms… D. they met at a gov’t building lots of ppl (the old south meeting house for protest ((( the boston tea party ))). E. the militia had to arm themselves. F. Native american theory was involved (they dressed as indians for cover). the bundies and lavoy wanted to meet with native americans first. G. they both committed criminal acts (one throwing expensive tea overboard) the bundies were going to return the native americans their property that by law has been kept from them (( thats illegal )).
If any of these ppl that are happy about lavoys death had been around during the boston tea party, they would have not fought on the side of americans.. they would have joined the brittish. sorry but its true.
don’t forget, rosa parks disobeyed the law too. what if she had reached into her purse?
debbie, you are the perfect Trump voter and Bundy groupie. They fit you like a glove.
debbie, The Boston tea party and Rosa Parks are the two dumbest comparisons for this event you could’ve come up with. Rosa didn’t spout off like these idiots yelling if they attack us we’ll kill them, and the tea party was about taxation not violence or rights. You are grasping for straws and it makes you look delusional. These people were protesting while armed in the most unlawful way. They should’ve gone home like they were asked to do in the beginning and no one would be dead.
lavoy put a video out actually the media did (blue tarp lavoy video) in which he said, “don’t point no guns and they’ll be no guns, everyone knows your not supposed to point a gun unless your going to shoot someone” and to be clear that is true. in my gun class they taught us.. if you point your weapon it should never be for threat, you are either going to shoot someone or not.
Finicum also stated the following to CNN “I’m just not going to prison,” Finicum said. “Look at the stars. There’s no way I’m going to sit in a concrete cell where I can’t see the stars and roll out my bedroll on the ground. That’s just not going to happen. I want to be able to get up in the morning and throw my saddle on my horse and go check on my cows. It’s OK. I’ve lived a good life. God’s been gracious to me.”
I feel some what sorry for the officer who panicked and shot first. I sense he might be a rookie. Maybe justified, maybe premature. A honest inquiry might produce the truth. Then again, each side is capable of sweeping the truth under the rug.
Where’s King Salomon when you could use his insight?
I do expect to hear statements like ‘ At this point, What difference does it make?? And ‘See, See, Damn that 2nd Amendment’
Panicked?? You blind and illiterate both? The guy displayed lethal weaponry while promising to die rather then go to jail. Evades the cops, runs a roadblock, almost runs over a cop, jumps and runs from vehicle while putting his hands to his waist several times. The state trooper who shot him executed a deliberate and measured response to a well understood threat. Being dressed in a cowboy costume doesn’t give you a free pass when you are a criminal on the run.
The Boston tea party and Rosa Parks are the two dumbest comparisons for this event you could’ve come up with. Rosa didn’t spout off like these idiots yelling if they attack us we’ll kill them, and the tea party was about taxation not violence or rights. You are grasping for straws and it makes you look delusional.
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