Oregon medical examiner IDs Finicum as shooting victim
The Oregon state medical examiner has confirmed the identify of Tuesday’s shooting victim on U..S Highway 395 north of Burns as Robert LaVoy Finicum, the Arizona rancher who was one of the main faces of the nearly month-long Malheur National Wildlife Refuge standoff.
The Associated Press quoted a law enforcement official who said Finicum was shot after reaching toward his waistband several times.
The official, who had been briefed on the investigation but spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it by name, said Finicum was armed, but did not have an opportunity to shoot.
Here’s the full text of a statement issued Thursday afternoon by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.
On January 26, 2016 the Oregon State Police and Harney County District Attorney, Tim Colahan requested the Deschutes County Major Incident Team investigate the circumstances of the officer involved use of deadly force on Hwy 395 in Harney County.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is the lead agency on this investigation, assisted by detectives from the Bend Police Department, Redmond Police Department and Oregon State Police.
The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy on January 28, 2016 and confirmed the identity of the deceased person as Robert LaVoy Finicum, age 54, of Freedonia, AZ. The results of the autopsy are not available at this time.
The investigation is being conducted in accordance with Senate Bill 111, which outlines the procedures for officer involved use of deadly force in the State of Oregon. Due to the importance and complexity of such investigations, we anticipate the investigation will continue for several days to weeks.
Harney County District Attorney Tim Colahan has transferred review of the investigation to Malheur County District Attorney Dan Norris.
“In the interest of transparency and to prevent any perceived conflict of interest, it is appropriate to have a district attorney with no prior involvement review the investigation. I have requested Malheur County District Attorney Dan Norris review the investigation and make a decision regarding the appropriate use of deadly physical force.” Harney County District Attorney Tim Colahan
The Malheur County District Attorney’s Office will not be releasing any additional information at this time. Any further releases will come through the Harney County Joint Information Center at pio@co.harney.or.us
