Four federal officers fired over 30 rounds during the deadly arrest of Portland killer Michael Reinoehl — who had his hand close to a loaded handgun in his pocket, a sheriff’s official said.
The Antifa security guard was shot dead Sept. 3 outside a Lacey, Washington, apartment where he had been hiding out after killing right-wing counter-protester Aaron “Jay” Danielson five days earlier.
The officers who fired said they gave Reinoehl “commands to stop and show his hands” before they shot him, Thurston County Sheriff’s Lt. Ray Brady told The Oregonian of the ongoing investigation into the shooting.
Nearly two dozen witnesses contradicted that in a story published by the New York Times.
One officer claimed he saw Reinoehl raise a gun toward him, while another said he saw the fugitive reaching into his pocket, Brady said.
Reinoehl was found with a loaded .380-caliber handgun in his front pocket — and his hand near the gun, the officer said.
A single .380-caliber shell casing was found in the back seat of his Volkswagen — where he was first hit — but investigators do not know when it was fired.
Authorities also found an untouched AR-style rifle in a bag in the car, the Times reported.
Reinoehl got out of the car and ran behind it, collapsing in the street beside a set of mailboxes, Brady said. There is no evidence to suggest he fired outside the car. There were rounds in Reinoehl’s gun, but Brady did not disclose how many.
An autopsy found Reinoehl died from gunshot wounds to the head and upper torso.
Witnesses told the Times that the raid happened with startling speed — with one assuming the officers were gang members taking down a rival based on how quickly they opened fire.
“I respect cops to the utmost, but things were definitely in no way, shape or form done properly,” Garrett Louis, a former US Army medic, told the Times.
Investigators are still awaiting lab results to determine whether Reinoehl’s handgun was the same one used to kill Patriot Prayer supporter Danielson, who had just attended a pro-President Trump caravan.
Reinoehl had admitted to the killing in an interview with Vice days before his death, claiming he was saving the life of “a friend of mine of color.”
He was shot dead as the multi-agency federal task force tried to arrest him with a warrant on charges of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a firearm.
His death has sparked controversy and conspiracy theories, with witnesses telling The Oregonian as well as Oregon Public Broadcasting that the officers opened fire without warning.
The officers were from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, the Lakewood Police Department and the Washington Department of Corrections.