PORTLAND, Ore. — FBI agents involved in the traffic stop that led to the killing of one of the armed occupiers of an Oregon wildlife refuge are under investigation for not disclosing they fired shots that missed Robert ‘‘LaVoy’’ Finicum, authorities said Tuesday.
Oregon State Police fired the three rounds that killed the Arizona rancher during a confrontation with authorities on a remote road, Oregon law enforcement officials said at a news conference in Bend.
But the results of an independent investigation by Oregon authorities found the troopers were justified in shooting Finicum because he failed to heed their commands and repeatedly reached for his weapon, Malheur County District Attorney Dan Norris said.
The investigators also discovered that members of an FBI hostage rescue team who were at the scene failed to disclose that they fired two rounds.
As they looked into how many shots were fired during the confrontation and by whom, the investigators found a round in the roof of Finicum’s truck.
‘‘We could not explain the fourth shot into the roof of the truck, or its trajectory given the placement of the Oregon State Police troopers at the time,’’ Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson said. Investigators determined the FBI team fired two shots, he said.
The US Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General said it is investigating the FBI team’s actions, working with Oregon officials.
During the news conference, Oregon officials played videos showing Finicum and others in his truck Jan. 26 during the initial stop by law enforcement. Finicum was driving one of two vehicles pulled over carrying key occupation figures.
Video taken from the phone of one of his passengers shows the occupants panicking after authorities stop the truck.
With his window rolled down, Finicum shouts at the officers: ‘‘Shoot me, just shoot me! Put the bullet through me. Do as you damn well please.’’
After a conversation with others in the truck, Finicum drives off, leading authorities on a short chase. The song ‘‘Hold Each Other’’ by a Great Big World was on the vehicle’s stereo.
Finicum was driving over 70 miles per hour when the truck came to a roadblock. A trooper fired three shots at the truck as it approached because it was a threat to law enforcement officers, he said.
The truck then veered left and plowed into a snowbank. As Finicum got out, someone from the FBI team fired two more shots, Nelson said.
As Finicum stood in the snow, authorities told him multiple times to lie on the ground. Instead, he reached into the inside of his jacket. The troopers fired three rounds, all of which hit him. A loaded pistol was found in Finicum’s jacket pocket.
Oregon investigators said Finicum posed a threat to law enforcement officers by nearly running over one of them at the roadblock, and by reaching for a gun.
