ralper

I haven't had the time to follow this case, but on the way home from work the other night I heard a sound bite that said that an investigation into Pat Tillman's death is being opened (reopened) and it will very possibly be a criminal investigation.

Why is this being done, and what are the reasons for the possible criminal investigation?

dean

The parents requested it. He was killed by friendly fire which the military initially lied about. And the parents believe that they haven't gotten the full story of the case.

ralper

I know that his parents weren't satisfied with the conclusion and their treatment, and I know that they wanted the case reopened, but why the possible criminal investigation? What do they suspect?

dean

I don't know what the parents actually suspect. I haven't heard much of their side of the story.

ralper

I heard something before about how they want to find out if it was appropriate for the troops to be firing their weapons, and whether or not they were arbitrarily firing.

As much as I am against war and all of this soldiering stuff, its hard for me to understand how you can possibly impose that kind of restriction on troops in combat. There must be more to it.

bborzell

Based upon a couple of the tidbits that have been floating around, it's pretty easy to understand why the parents might feel there is some kind of cover up going on.

1. Initial story was that he was shot by the enemy and that he was a hero who was protecting his buddies

2. His uniform was burned shortly after he was shot (forensic evidence was destroyed).

Who knows what really happened...

Smokee

[COLOR=blue]"The Tillmans asked why officers in his unit ordered physical evidence, including his uniform and body armour, to be burnt the day after the shooting.

They also have alleged that the findings of earlier investigations into their son

fltsfshr

There are rules in combat. In this case the rules are the UCMJ rules which have strict protocols regarding such incidents.

I'm sure it will get a thorough hashing out. Whether there's a coverup to protect someones butt or a coverup attempting to make a hero death more heroic, we'll see.


fltsfshr

dean

The protocols may be in place, but unless things have changed drastically in the past forty years they're almost impossible to enforce during a fire fight. Given how chaotic such events usually are, the odds aren't much better that the circumstances will all get sorted out after the fact either. Not that I need to be telling you this stuff.

What rankles me the most about this affair is the fact that had this happened to Joe Sixpack from East Overshoe, Kentucky the story wouldn't be getting any attention whatsoever. I'm sure this story will get a bit of public attention, at least until the public is distracted by the next white girl to go missing, or if Paris buys a new dog.

Rdrunner

I agree.

Since this man had a valuable future, could a lawsuit follow if negligence is proven?



dvh