Robert “LaVoy” Finicum (center) was killed during a traffic stop on Jan. 26. Rick Bowmer/AP
Justice Department Watchdog Will Probe FBI Shooting in Oregon
Hostage rescue team’s videotaped killing of occupier prompted controversy.
The videotaped Jan. 26 shooting of one of the protesters who occupied federal property at Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is now the subject of an investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general, his office announced on Tuesday at a news conference in Bend, Ore.
IG Michael Horowitz in a statement said his office “is investigating the actions of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team in connection with the shooting,” citing the 1978 Inspector General Act’s authority to “independently review allegations of FBI misconduct.”
Horowitz added, without further detail, that he looks “forward to working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon, as well as state and local officials as we review this matter.”
The death of 56-year-old Robert "LaVoy" Finicum during a traffic stop toward the end of the 41-day occupation and protest over federal lands policy drew criticism from some members of the movement to challenge the government’s authority over western lands suitable for ranching.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service are in charge of the Malheur refuge.