Angel
03-05-2006, 11:36 AM
Tillman probe now criminal
Negligence possible in battlefield death
Billy House
Republic Washington Bureau
Mar. 5, 2006 12:00 AM
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has ordered Army investigators to open another investigation - this time, a criminal probe - into former pro football player Pat Tillman's April 22, 2004, death as a soldier in Afghanistan.
The move, announced Saturday, comes after previous Army reviews concluded that the 27-year-old Tillman's death was an accidental shooting by members of his own Rangers unit.
Those findings sparked vehement public criticism by Tillman's parents, Patrick Tillman Sr. and Mary Tillman.
"The U.S. Army remains committed to thoroughly investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Patrick Tillman, and we extend our heartfelt condolences again to his family," Army spokesman Paul Boyce said Saturday.
Tillman was viewed by many people as a symbol of U.S. patriotism after walking away from a lucrative contract extension offered by the Arizona Cardinals to join the Army in 2002.
According to previous reports, he was killed by gunfire from fellow Army Rangers who mistook him for the enemy.
It was five weeks after Tillman's death - after his memorial services - when the Army revealed that he had been killed by a section of his own platoon, not Taliban and al-Qaida fighters.
The Tillmans have questioned why officers in Tillman's unit ordered physical evidence in the incident destroyed by fire.
They also have alleged that the findings of earlier homicide investigations into their son's death were reworked by officers after the investigating officer refused to alter them.
The new investigation is to be conducted by the Army Criminal Investigative Division of Fort Belvoir, Va., at the request of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, which has been reviewing the matter.
Such military death investigations routinely start by considering each case a potential homicide, and work from there.
The exact scope and potential targets of this investigation have not been outlined because the inspector general's formal command to the CID, spelling out what it wants investigated, is not yet finalized.
But Army officials have not ruled out that negligent homicide may be among the charges considered.
The matter is likely to lead investigators across the United States and overseas, including Afghanistan, to conduct witness interviews and perform other investigative duties. An Army official would not speculate on what additional forensic approaches might be taken.
Both of Tillman's parents were notified of the new investigation late Friday, according to an Army official.
Neither could be reached Saturday at their homes in San Jose.
For the first five weeks after Tillman's death, Army announcements did not mention that Tillman had been killed by friendly fire. Instead, they focused on the posthumous awarding of the Silver Star and the Purple Heart for his actions and implied he had been trying to suppress enemy fire when he was killed.
It was not until May 29, 2004, a day after The Arizona Republic reported that an Army investigation had concluded Tillman died by friendly fire, that the Army publicly acknowledged that fact.
The Army has insisted that no cover-up was intended but conceded that the errors contributed to "an air of suspicion" about Tillman's death.
Despite follow-up Army investigations that have concluded mistakes were made in handling the case, the Tillmans have remained unsatisfied.
They have continued to raise questions, including why their son's uniform and body armor were burned a day after he was killed and why they were not immediately told he might have been killed by fellow soldiers.
Patrick Sr., in a letter to the Washington Post published May 28, 2005, accused the Army of having conducted two "sham" investigations.
He also alleged that the results of an earlier homicide investigation into his son's death had been reworked by officers after the investigating officer refused to alter them.
Superior officers even "deliberately falsified baseline facts," including distances and light conditions in the rocky area where his son was killed, he wrote.
The Pentagon's Office of Inspector General began its look into the Army's handling of the case in December 2004 at the request of former acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee. Mary Tillman had enlisted the help of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in pressing Brownlee for that review.
A May 2004 report from Brig. Gen. Gary Jones had already concluded that top Army brass had known within days of Tillman's death that it was the result of friendly fire. The 1,600-page report also contained statements from soldiers involved in the incident who said they burned Tillman's blood-covered uniform and armor because they knew how he had been killed.
The report said the soldiers were not thinking about "proof" or evidence for an investigation.
Initially, Tillman's uniform and armor were described as being destroyed because they were considered a biohazard.
Tillman's brother, Kevin, trained with him, and the two served together as members of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, based at Fort Lewis, Wash.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0305tillman0305.html
Negligence possible in battlefield death
Billy House
Republic Washington Bureau
Mar. 5, 2006 12:00 AM
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has ordered Army investigators to open another investigation - this time, a criminal probe - into former pro football player Pat Tillman's April 22, 2004, death as a soldier in Afghanistan.
The move, announced Saturday, comes after previous Army reviews concluded that the 27-year-old Tillman's death was an accidental shooting by members of his own Rangers unit.
Those findings sparked vehement public criticism by Tillman's parents, Patrick Tillman Sr. and Mary Tillman.
"The U.S. Army remains committed to thoroughly investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Patrick Tillman, and we extend our heartfelt condolences again to his family," Army spokesman Paul Boyce said Saturday.
Tillman was viewed by many people as a symbol of U.S. patriotism after walking away from a lucrative contract extension offered by the Arizona Cardinals to join the Army in 2002.
According to previous reports, he was killed by gunfire from fellow Army Rangers who mistook him for the enemy.
It was five weeks after Tillman's death - after his memorial services - when the Army revealed that he had been killed by a section of his own platoon, not Taliban and al-Qaida fighters.
The Tillmans have questioned why officers in Tillman's unit ordered physical evidence in the incident destroyed by fire.
They also have alleged that the findings of earlier homicide investigations into their son's death were reworked by officers after the investigating officer refused to alter them.
The new investigation is to be conducted by the Army Criminal Investigative Division of Fort Belvoir, Va., at the request of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, which has been reviewing the matter.
Such military death investigations routinely start by considering each case a potential homicide, and work from there.
The exact scope and potential targets of this investigation have not been outlined because the inspector general's formal command to the CID, spelling out what it wants investigated, is not yet finalized.
But Army officials have not ruled out that negligent homicide may be among the charges considered.
The matter is likely to lead investigators across the United States and overseas, including Afghanistan, to conduct witness interviews and perform other investigative duties. An Army official would not speculate on what additional forensic approaches might be taken.
Both of Tillman's parents were notified of the new investigation late Friday, according to an Army official.
Neither could be reached Saturday at their homes in San Jose.
For the first five weeks after Tillman's death, Army announcements did not mention that Tillman had been killed by friendly fire. Instead, they focused on the posthumous awarding of the Silver Star and the Purple Heart for his actions and implied he had been trying to suppress enemy fire when he was killed.
It was not until May 29, 2004, a day after The Arizona Republic reported that an Army investigation had concluded Tillman died by friendly fire, that the Army publicly acknowledged that fact.
The Army has insisted that no cover-up was intended but conceded that the errors contributed to "an air of suspicion" about Tillman's death.
Despite follow-up Army investigations that have concluded mistakes were made in handling the case, the Tillmans have remained unsatisfied.
They have continued to raise questions, including why their son's uniform and body armor were burned a day after he was killed and why they were not immediately told he might have been killed by fellow soldiers.
Patrick Sr., in a letter to the Washington Post published May 28, 2005, accused the Army of having conducted two "sham" investigations.
He also alleged that the results of an earlier homicide investigation into his son's death had been reworked by officers after the investigating officer refused to alter them.
Superior officers even "deliberately falsified baseline facts," including distances and light conditions in the rocky area where his son was killed, he wrote.
The Pentagon's Office of Inspector General began its look into the Army's handling of the case in December 2004 at the request of former acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee. Mary Tillman had enlisted the help of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in pressing Brownlee for that review.
A May 2004 report from Brig. Gen. Gary Jones had already concluded that top Army brass had known within days of Tillman's death that it was the result of friendly fire. The 1,600-page report also contained statements from soldiers involved in the incident who said they burned Tillman's blood-covered uniform and armor because they knew how he had been killed.
The report said the soldiers were not thinking about "proof" or evidence for an investigation.
Initially, Tillman's uniform and armor were described as being destroyed because they were considered a biohazard.
Tillman's brother, Kevin, trained with him, and the two served together as members of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, based at Fort Lewis, Wash.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0305tillman0305.html