ND Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem asked for status of BCI investigation of police shooting

Questions now exist whether the referenced BCI investigation actually pre-dated the Elliott shooting and may have been the catalyst for the attempted murder of Elliott by rogue police.

by Timothy Charles Holmseth on February 29, 2016 at 8:11 A.M.

ND Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem is being asked to explain why his office has not made any statements regarding the pursuit and shooting of David James Elliott in 2015.

ND AG Wayne Stenehjem

In February, 2015, law enforcement in North Dakota refused to inform the public through the media about the basic facts surrounding an officer involved shooting in a hospital parking lot in Grand Forks.

The shooting involved the University of North Dakota Police Department (UNDPD), Grand Forks Police Department (GFPD), Grand Forks Sheriff’s Office (GFSO), and North Dakota Highway Patrol (NDHP).

Law enforcement continuously deferred reporters to the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) saying the BCI was the “lead agency”.

On March 3, 2015, the Grand Forks Herald said in an Opinion:

Reached by phone Saturday morning, police Lt. Dwight Love told the Herald there was no danger to the public. He refused to elaborate, and passed off further questions to the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Despite numerous requests from the Herald, the BCI did not comment. Adding to the confusion, the attorney general’s office — which oversees the BCI — said it was a local responsibility, i.e. our local police force.

Want to breed public distrust of the police and law-enforcement in general? Here’s a checklist on how to do it:

• Withhold basic information and let rumors run rampant in coffee shops and on social media sites.
• Appear unorganized and ignorant of basic protocols, such as which agency is actually in charge of public information.
• Adopt a “nothing to see here” approach when the whole darn town knows (and sees) otherwise.
• Disregard state law, which states that agencies are required to provide information in these types of incidents, including a chronology of events as well as initial offense report information showing the offense, date, time, general location, officer and a brief summary of what happened.

Over a year later there has been no known press release from the BCI regarding the ‘investigation’ that was continuously referenced by law enforcement spokesmen in the wake of the Elliott shooting.

Questions now exist whether the referenced BCI investigation actually pre-dated the Elliott shooting and may have been the catalyst for the attempted murder of Elliott by rogue police.

If so – that would mean all police efforts to withhold information from the public, from day one, was an attempt to hide the truth about an attempted murder that involved the GFPD, GFSO, UNDPD, and NDHP.

Stenehjem is running for the position of Governor.

* * * * *

Timothy Charles Holmseth
320 17th Street N.W.
Unit # 17
East Grand Forks, MN
56721
218.773.1299218.773.1299
218.230.1597218.230.1597 (cell)
tholmseth@wiktel.com
http://www.writeintoaction.com

February 28, 2016

In Re: BCI Investigation / David James Elliott / Multiple County Pursuit

Wayne Stenehjem
Office of the Attorney General
State Capitol
600 E. Boulevard Ave.
Dept. 125
Bismarck, ND 58505
701.328.2210701.328.2210
ndag@state.nd.us

Attorney General Stenehjem,

I am contacting you in regards to the BCI investigation referenced by North Dakota law enforcement spokesmen following the pursuit and shooting of David James Elliott in February, 2015, in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

As you know, immediately following the pursuit and shooting, law enforcement refused to provide the media with any information regarding the event that began in the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot and ended hours later at Altru Hospital in front of the Emergency Room.

When UND Police Chief Eric Plummer, GFPD Chief Mark Nelson, and Grand Forks Sheriff Bob Rost, finally addressed the public in a press conference days later, they said they were not at liberty to provide the public with information or discuss it because it was a BCI investigation.

I am contacting you in regards to the SUBJECT of that BCI investigation; and the present STATUS of said investigation, which was repeatedly referenced by law enforcement.

According to UND Police Chief Eric Plummer during a press conference, the pursuit of David James Elliott involved “multiple counties” and the voting public needs to know what those counties were.

Respectfully yours,
Timothy Charles Holmseth

Investigative Journalist/Author/Publisher

VISIT WWW.WRITEINTOACTION.COM

POLICE SHOOTING COVER UP! Critical video and 911 records of David James Elliott pursuit and hospital parking lot shooting not requested by media

University of North Dakota Police Chief Eric Plummer and GFPD Police Chief Mark Nelson give opposing account of events

GFPD Chief Mark Nelson

by Timothy Charles Holmseth on February 21, 2016 at 1:44 P.M.

“No transcription requests, or requests for additional video footage to be processed, have been made for video or 911 records,”

– Lt. Derik Zimmel / GFPD

Law enforcement in North Dakota is attempting to cover-up the true facts and circumstances that led to the shooting of an unarmed man in a hospital parking lot.

The public is yet to learn why David James Elliott, a man with no criminal record, abruptly fled from police in February, 2015, before being shot three times in the head.

Despite availability, no request has been made for the critical 911 records of Elliott’s call to PSAP, which would shed light on the events, facts, and circumstances that ended when Elliott was shot outside the Emergency Room parking lot of Altru hospital in Grand Forks.

On February, 8, 2016, WDAZ, Forum Communications, Inc. broadcast select video featuring short clips from the chase and shooting.

Responding to a request for information by Write Into Action regarding records, Lt. Derik Zimmel, Grand Forks Police Department (GFPD) said “In-car video for primary pursuing vehicles for both pursuits in their entirety” was requested by the media.

Zimmel’s reference to “both pursuits” is based upon an assertion that two separate pursuits took place on the night in question.

The deceptive story being given to the public is that the initial David Elliott pursuit was cancelled, and then, re-initiated, over an hour later, when Elliott returned to Grand Forks city limits.

That’s false.

“MULTIPLE COUNTIES”

“The UND police officer was assisting in a pursuit that had covered multiple counties as well as the City of Grand Forks,” said UND Police Chief Eric Plummer during a press conference. [quote can be heard at the 20 second marker of the following video].

Plummer refers to ONE pursuit.

Either GFPD Chief Mark Nelson’s public information officer Lt. Derik Zimmel is lying; or UND Police Chief Eric Plummer is lying.

The facts show Plummer is telling the truth.

The pursuit was on-going after law enforcement claims they stopped chasing Elliott on I-29 South near Thompson, North Dakota.

But law enforcement does not want the public to know that.

Public record already in existence establish that Grand Forks County Sheriff’s and North Dakota Highway Patrol were pursuing Elliott on I-29 South from the Oslo, Minnesota interchange to Grand Forks, which is in the opposite direction of Thompson.

The details of the mysterious events occurring during that time window are contained in the 911 records.

The reason for calling it ‘two separate pursuits’ is to avoid discussing the activities of the Grand Forks Sheriff’s deputies and North Dakota Highway Patrol that were likely attempting kill Elliott.

The following excerpt is from an Opinion Letter authored by Grand Forks County States Attorney David T. Jones:

According to States Attorney Jones, Elliott telephoned 911 after the pursuit began. The 911 records of Elliott’s 911 call will reveal where he was located and what was occurring around him.

“No transcription requests, or requests for additional video footage to be processed, have been made for video or 911 records,” said Lt. Derik Zimmel, GFPD.

Write Into Action has determined a collective effort is being made to conceal from the public, just exactly what occurred after police claim they stopped chasing Elliott near Thompson, North Dakota; and over an hour later when they admit coming back into contact with Elliott near the Oslo, Minnesota I-29 interchange, which is in the opposite direction.

The truth is in the 911 records.

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