A day after the FBI released video of the fatal shooting of an anti-government protester at an Oregon wildlife refuge, an eyewitness claims police shot him when he had his ”hands in the air.” Linda So reports.
The FBI released this footage showing LaVoy Finicum in his final moments. Authorities say the rancher who acted as the spokesman for the militia group occupying a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon was armed when an officer shot him dead. The FBI says the footage shows the 54-year-old raising his hands and then lowering his arms to his body when he was shot by Oregon State troopers. Authorities claim Finicum was reaching for his jacket pocket, where officers found a loaded handgun. But Victoria Sharp who says she was at the scene says Finicum was not threatening authorities. SOUNDBITE: VICTORIA SHARP, WITNESS, SAYING: “LaVoy opened the door and he got out with his hands out and he said if you’re going to shoot us, just shoot me, because I want to go see the sheriff. And he had his hands up and he was walking back towards their vehicles.” Sharp says Finicum was shot with his gun in his holster and his hands in the air. SOUNDBITE: VICTORIA SHARP, WITNESS, SAYING: “I didn’t think they’d actually shoot him because he was not being threatening at all and I was down in the vehicle and I could still see through the window, I could see him with his hands in the air talking to them and walking in that direction. And then we heard three consecutive shots and he went down and we heard a couple more shots and I was and I couldn’t believe they shot him.” Law enforcement officials would not comment on Sharp’s version of events.
