BURNS, Ore.—A video showing the shooting death of an occupier of an Oregon wildlife refuge appears to show the man reaching into his jacket before he fell into the snow. The FBI said the man had a loaded gun in his pocket.
Authorities played the video shot by the FBI at a Thursday evening news conference, in an apparent effort to counter claims that the man killed in the confrontation Tuesday on a remote Oregon high-country road — Robert “LaVoy” Finicum — did nothing to provoke officers.
The FBI’s release of the footage came as four occupiers remaining at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge refused to leave without assurances they wouldn’t be arrested. The group’s jailed leader, Ammon Bundy, urged them to surrender. The occupation began nearly a month ago.
During the confrontation in which Finicum was killed, the FBI and Oregon State Troopers arrested five main figures in the occupation, including Bundy. Bundy and several of the other occupiers have another federal court hearing scheduled for Friday afternoon.
The video, shot by the FBI from aircraft, shows Bundy’s vehicle stopped by police on a road. He and an occupier riding with him — Brian Cavalier — were arrested. A white truck driven by Finicum was stopped but took off, with officers in pursuit. The video shows Finicum’s vehicle plowing into a snowbank when encountering a roadblock.
A man identified as Finicum gets out of the truck. At first, he has his hands up, but then he appears to reach into his pocket and he falls into the snow.
“On at least two occasions, Finicum appears to reach 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 9mm semi-automatic handgun in the pocket,” he said.
Bretzing also said Finicum’s truck nearly hit an FBI agent before it got stuck in the snow.
“Actions have consequences,” Bretzing said. “The FBI and OSP tried to effect these arrests peacefully.”
The FBI posted the video to its YouTube channel.
With Finicum lying in the snow, the video shows the arrest of two other occupiers as they got out of the stuck truck: Ryan Bundy, who is Ammon’s brother, and Shawna Cox. Bretzing said another woman was in the truck but was not arrested. He did not identify her.
Bretzing said agents and troopers “provided medical assistance to Finicum” after they were “confident that they had addressed any further threats.” He said that happened about 10 minutes after the shooting.
Two loaded .223 caliber semi-automatic rifles and a loaded revolver were found in the truck, Bretzing said.
Bretzing said that when Finicum’s truck was first stopped, an occupier riding with him — Ryan Payne — got out and surrendered. He said troopers and agents ordered others in the truck to surrender but Finicum sped off.
Bundy and his followers were on their way to a meeting in the community of John Day when then encountered the FBI-led operation to apprehend them. The FBI acted amid growing calls that something be done to end the occupation, including from Oregon’s governor.
The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office on Thursday confirmed the person shot in the Tuesday confrontation was Finicum, a 54-year-old Arizona rancher.
At the news conference in Burns, Bretzing said four occupiers are still holed up at the wildlife refuge. “The negotiators continue to work around the clock to talk to those four people in an effort to get them to come out peacefully,” he said.
