by Timothy Charles Holmseth on August 17, 2016, 5:25 P.M. CST
The United States Border Patrol is named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed in United States District Court in North Dakota today.
On August 17, 2016, Timothy Charles Holmseth filed a Complaint to the United States District Court – District of North Dakota, against multiple agencies in North Dakota. Holmseth filed the Complaint after receiving paperwork from the North Dakota Court that provided instructions and forms regarding a previous correspondence to the Court pertaining to a lawsuit.
Holmseth, an investigative journalist from East Grand Forks, Minnesota, alleges a multi-agency and multi-jurisdiction conspiracy exists to cover up the true facts and circumstances surrounding the pursuit and shooting of David James Elliott in 2015.
Elliott was unarmed when he was shot by a University of North Dakota police officer on February 28, 2015.
The lawsuit alleges defendants are violating public records laws; have defrauded Holmseth’s publication Write Into Action; and are actively violating Holmseth’s Constitutional rights under the First Amendment.
According to Holmseth’s Complaint, defendants, including Grand Forks Police Chief Mark Nelson, have conspired to destroy police-cam evidence of the Elliott Event, which includes deliberately hiding the fact that the United States Border Patrol was involved.
“The criminal conspiracy involves, but is not limited to, GFPD officer (former UNDPD officer) Jerad Braaten, UNDPD Chief of Police Eric Plummer, GFPD Chief of Police Mark Nelson, Grand Forks County Sheriff Bob Rost, GFPD Lt. Derik Zimmel, UNDPD Sgt. Danny Weigel, Grand Forks States Attorney David Jones,” the Complaint said.
Holmseth alleges Defendant Grand Forks Police Department (GFPD) altered police body-cam evidence before turning it over, in effort to hide what truly happened the night a University of North Dakota police officer shot David Elliott multiple times in the head in the Altru hospital parking lot.
Holmseth had been actively requesting and paying for public records regarding the shooting until he was notified by Lt. Derik Zimmel on July 11, 2016, Nelson issued a “Special Order’ on June 26, 2016, changing the retention dates for police cam evidence held in GFPD custody.
Holmseth alleges the Special Order by Nelson was made in bad faith to advance a criminal conspiracy to destroy evidence of an attempted murder.
On July 11, 2016 Lt. Derik Zimmel advised Holmseth he had until July 18, 2016 to make any further requests for records and then the records would be “subject to destruction”.
On July 17, 2016, Holmseth submitted a public records request to the City of Grand Forks that said, “Pursuant to all applicable state and federal laws, I am requesting ALL officer body-camera videos; ALL police dash-cam videos; ALL reports, notes, ledgers, transcripts, and other records pertaining to the pursuit and shooting of David James Elliott.”
On July 28, 2016 Holmseth received a letter from Grand Forks City Attorney Howard Swanson advising that no more records would be turned over because they were now deemed legal Discovery.
Holmseth alleges the Elliott shooting was actually a pre-mediated murder and possibly an ordered ‘hit’ that involved drug trafficking through the State of North Dakota.
North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) records show the BCI seized “thousands” of pills from Elliott’s vehicle following the bizarre two hour slow speed chase through multiple counties that was all captured on a 107 minute 911 call placed by Elliott – but never heard by the public. Elliott was talking to a GFPD officer during the 911 call.
Holmseth is the only publisher to request any portion of the 107 minute 911 call, which cost over a hundred dollars in fees for just a few minutes of the call.
David James Elliott contacted Holmseth and said law enforcement hid and/or destroyed body-cam evidence that showed police officer Jerad Braaten attempted to shoot him while he was sitting atop the Columbia Road Bridge in Grand Forks.
“What they don’t tell you is that the officer that shot me tried to shoot me at the top of the university bridge were I stopped and was hanging half way out the window with my hands straight out but his gun misfired – so he pulled his gun back on top to dislodge the bullet and they found that bullet there on top of the bridge with nobody taking claim to it until they pulled his finger prints off of the damn thing,” Elliott said.
The first attempted shooting of Elliott by Bratten changes exposes the entire false narrative that was subsequently given to the public because it shows Braaten was stalking Elliott to shoot him.
“When [Jerad Braaten] shot me everyone was yelling ‘cease fire’ and nobody even knew who was firing until it was all done – and the cop that supposedly got drug by my vehicle wasn’t ever in danger – let alone near the driver’s window – and the cop that shot me on video said ‘I thought you were in danger’ and he yells ‘I wasn’t in danger at any given time and was upset,” Elliott said.
Elliott told Holmseth police used “Excessive Force” and the Grand Forks States Attorney’s office told his lawyer, Darla Schuman, they were charging him with felonies so he wouldn’t sue.
The excessive force appears to involve more than the unwarranted shooting.
“There is so much to this whole thing that people will never know or even understand. Heck after the first two to the third shot fired, my pickup was stopped and he just kept on shooting me. He fired 14 times total until his gun was empty and 8 hit me – and a total of ten hit my truck – and two hit the Kidney Dialysis Center way off to the right and two hit the E/R hall way way off to the left,” Elliott said.
“I got shot 8 times – not 6 or 7 – and then after I got shot and was laying on the steering wheel knocked out with blood all over the place and my left hand missing two fingers -two other officers from GFPD ran up to the drivers window and freaken tazed my lifeless body not once but twice – and they’re yelling put your hands up quit resisting as they open the drivers door and my body falls out of the truck like a sack of potatoes,” Elliott said.
“That’s the video nobody has seen – and I have it,” Elliott said.
The following are named as defendants:
- City of Grand Forks/Grand Forks Police Department, 122 South 5th Street, Grand Forks, North Dakota
- University of North Dakota/University of North Dakota Police Department, 300 Twamley Hall, 264 Centennial Drive, Grand Forks North Dakota
- Altru Health Systems, 1000 South Columbia Road, Grand Forks, North Dakota
- Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Office, 122 South 5th Street, Grand Forks
- Grand Forks Public Service Access Point, 122 South 5th Street, Grand Forks, North Dakota
- Grand Forks States Attorney, 124 South 4th Street, Grand Forks, North Dakota
- North Dakota Highway Patrol, 1100 North 47th Street, STE 200, Grand Forks, North Dakota.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 112 West Stutsman Street, Pembina, North Dakota,
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