Lawsuit over shooting death of LaVoy Finicum dismissed

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal lawsuit related to the shooting of rancher Robert LaVoy Finicum has been dismissed.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the civil suit was filed in U.S. District Court of Oregon by Ryan Payne, Shawna Cox and others who were associated with the Bundy family’s 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

They claimed that FBI agents, Oregon State Police and other officials violated their civil rights by using excessive force and “ambushing” them on the day Finicum was shot and killed.

Chief District Court Judge Michael Mosman dismissed all counts in the lawsuit Friday, saying “It’s time to put a fork in this case.”

The lawsuit was filed in January 2018.

Many of the original defendants in the case, including FBI agent W. Joseph Astarita and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, had already been dismissed over the course of nearly two years of litigation.