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| Oregon militia standoff: FBI releases video of LaVoy Finicum fatal shooting | Oregon militia standoff: FBI releases video of LaVoy Finicum fatal shooting |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 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. | 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 Oregon state troopers and federal officials stopped them. | 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 Oregon state troopers 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. | 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. | “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. | 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.” | “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.” | 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.” | 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. 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 explanation of the video, which is 30 minutes in total, the occupiers were driving two separate vehicles when they encountered law enforcement. | |
| Bundy and militiaman Brian Cavalier were in a jeep with an unidentified driver, Bretzing said. The jeep stopped and those three exited without incident. | |
| But Finicum’s truck ended up driving away. After he was shot |