What Did LaVoy Finicum Die For?: Part One

lavoy-finicum-620x348I watched the January 26, 2016 FBI footage and Finicum definitely attempted to run the roadblock, almost striking an agent who jumped in front of him.

He left the vehicle immediately walking several yards away covered by multiple agents. He seems to have put his hands down for some reason and the agents shot him dead.

A tragic loss of life after what appears to be anything but a routine traffic stop (some say an ambush) following weeks of peaceful negotiations. There is an on going investigation to assess the actions of the police.

If you are not familiar with this news story, click here.

My military training to “repel boarders” justifies the use of lethal force when faced with aggressive potentially deadly combatants. Law enforcement receive similar training and I can understand interpreting Finicum’s actions as aggressive, but is it really possible that the overwhelming presence of FBI and State Police agents considered the actions of Finicum as “potentially deadly?”

All I know for sure is that I am deeply disturbed by these last few moments of a good man’s life and have lots of unanswered questions:

Why did law enforcement choose to escalate the situation after weeks of peaceful talks?

Why did law enforcement setup and ambush Finicum and company when there was no immediate danger to life or property?

What was the government’s imperative to force a conclusion?

What does “productive beneficial use” mean?

What were the occupiers trying to accomplish at the refuge?

Image created by Joelle Mancuso

Image created by Joelle Mancuso

What are the opposing claims of the government and the ranchers?

What originally gave the ranchers the right to ranch on this land generations before and what changed?

What are the “natural rights” that the LaVoy kept talking about?

Was this just another “crazy standoff” or are these the actions of patriots? Now that a life has been sacrificed, I challenge you to look deeper and ask hard questions.

More to follow.

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