GFPD records clerk could not provide ‘Time’ of the 911 call she was transcribing

Official narrative regarding police shooting of unarmed man in serious question

by Timothy Charles Holmseth on April 5, 2016, 7:20 A.M. CST

The Grand Forks Police Department (GFPD) records clerk that transcribed the 911 call that preceded the police shooting of David James Elliott, did not know the ‘time’ of the call she was transcribing for an investigative journalist.

It’s kind of important.

The 911 call set into motion a high speed chase, police shooting of an unarmed man, and the subsequent seizure of thousands of pills in the suspect’s vehicle (for which no criminal charges were ever brought).

“The Time was not stated within the PSAP recording of the call therefore I have no way of knowing the exact time of the call,” said Penny Johnson, Records Administration Bureau, GFPD.

Lt. Derik Zimmel, GFPD, said the document provided to Write Into Action “fulfilled” the records request. It’s not known why the GFPD would not consider the actual time of a 911 call to be part of any 911 records request.

Lt. Zimmel, as well as Becky Ault, director of Grand Forks County PSAP, both responded to subsequent requests for clarification – both stated the time of the call was 10:41 P.M., February 27, 2015.

Becky Ault, Grand Forks County PSAP Director

However, the box allotted for “Time” remains empty in the actual transcription record.

Specific times are the key to understanding what occurred – and what did not occur.

Write Into Action’s request was for public records regarding an incident described in the official police shooting investigation conducted by the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) that said, “The cleaning woman inside the bank called in the complaint around 11:30 p.m., to 11:40 p.m.”

Lt. Zimmel said, “No such record exists.”

However – there appears to be a significant event that occurred at 11:30 P.M. on the night in question.

The BCI interview of ND State Trooper Brittany Schmidt said, “Trooper Schmidt stated the original call in regard to this case came in around 11 p.m.”

The BCI report continued, “Trooper Schmidt stated at 11:30 p.m., the vehicle from the earlier pursuit was located in Grand Forks. There was no pursuit at this time.”

The vehicle was located?

No pursuit?

Why?

Another anomalous statement regarding time is found in the BCI interview of GFPD officer Chris Brown who said he witnessed the pursuit at around 10:30 P.M.; which is before the 911 call was even made.

“In regard to the first (1st) pursuit, Grand Forks Police Department Officer Chris Brown said that he was at the Altru Hospital Emergency Room with a female that refused to leave, and a pursuit began at about 10:30 p.m./10:35 p.m. Grand Forks Police Department Officer Chris Brown saw the first (1st) pursuit proceed northbound on South Columbia Road past the Altru Hospital, but he was not involved. Grand Forks Police Department Officer Chris Brown continued with his call at the Altru Hospital Emergency Room until around 11:00 p.m.” the BCI report said.

How did Officer Brown observe a chase that began at 10:30/10:35 P.M. that was going north on Columbia Road past Altru when the pursuit did not begin until shortly before 11 P.M.?

The 11 P.M. start time for the pursuit is verified in a short video clip published by WDAZ TV.

“It started around 11 p.m. Friday February 27th when Grand Forks police tried to pull over a suspicious vehicle. Instead the driver of the vehicle, David Elliot, took off at speeds of more than 60 miles per hour thru a residential neighborhood,” WDAZ reported.

So what pursuit did Brown observe at 10:30/10:35 P.M.?

Write Into Action has identified a myriad of anomalies that call the official narrative in question.

Write Into Action continues to request public records and will report to the public.

VISIT WWW.WRITEINTOACTION.COM

Altru shooting 911 records: ‘Second person’ and ‘thousands of pills’ cast doubt upon official narrative of Altru police shooting

Did call to police by Wells Fargo cleaning lady interrupt drug activity involving law enforcement?

by Timothy Charles Holmseth on April 3, 2016, 1:22 P.M. CST

Was David James Elliott shot six times, including three times in the head, by a UND police officer, after a cleaning lady’s call to police interrupted drug activity in a vehicle that contained a law enforcement officer?

Evidence is emerging as Write Into Action investigates.

‘Thousands of pills’ and an ‘unidentified second person’ in the vehicle of the unarmed man shot by a UND police officer in February, 2015, is creating serious questions about the true events surrounding the Altru hospital parking lot shooting of David James Elliott.

Write Into Action has acquired a transcription of the call to police by Karen Yungen, the cleaning lady at Wells Fargo Bank, Grand Forks, who called police on February 27, 2015, reporting a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot.

In the transcription, which contains no “Time” for the call, Yungen said there’s “people in the truck”.

The Grand Forks Police Department (GFPD) has never named any second person being in Elliott’s vehicle or involved in the events that unfolded, which involved:

• High speed chase
• Slow speed chase
• One hour and fifteen minute cell phone call to 911 by David Elliott after the chase began where Elliott talked to GFPD officer Matt Bullinger
• Shooting of David Elliott in the Altru hospital parking lot by UND police officer Jared Braaten
• Thousands of pills in Elliott’s  vehicle

According to records obtained by Write Into Action from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Special Agent Quam reported, “Also, located during the search of the vehicle were thousands of prescription pills.”

Oddly, no criminal charges involving drugs were ever brought in the case, which is now concluded.

Statements by the GFPD appear to support Yungen’s reference to multiple persons in Elliott’s vehicle. During a press conference on March 3, 2015, Lt Dwight Love, GFPD, referred to more than one person being in the vehicle.

Reporter (Steve Wagner/Grand Forks Herald): So did an officer actually get out of the vehicle at Wells Fargo to communicate with him or was it something less than that? Lt. Dwight Love: I don’t believe he did. I think as soon as the officer arrived on scene, they left.

BCI documents also reveal very strange discrepancies between the time of Yungen’s 10:41 P.M. call to police, and the time of the (Yungen) call stated in the BCI interview of the responding officer, Dan Harvala.

“The cleaning woman inside the bank called in the complaint around 11:30 p.m., to 11:40 p.m.”  the BCI report said.

Grand Forks Police Department Officer Dan Harvala and Grand Forks Police Department Officer Matt Bullinger responded to a low party complaint. Grand Forks Police Department Officer Dan Harvala indicated there was a suspicious vehicle complaint from the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) pending and that once he cleared the loud party complaint he responded to the suspicious vehicle complaint. Grand Forks Police Department Officer Dan Harvala said that the suspicious vehicle was for a black pickup in the parking lot of the Wells Fargo Bank, Grand Forks, North Dakota. The cleaning woman inside the bank called in the complaint around 11:30 p.m., to 11:40 p.m. -ND BCI

The significantly later, 11:30 – 11:40 P.M. time-window, stated in the BCI report, receives support in another statement made by Lt. Love where he refers to the call being made in the “morning hours”.

Reporter (female): What did the caller say was suspicious about the vehicle? Lt. Dwight Love: Ummm, I guess I haven’t r… I can’t recall the report what was suspicious about that vehicle. I think it was in the Wells uhhh, Fargo bank parking lot – and it was at, in the morning hours so I think that in itself probably caused somebody to report that. That’s kind of odd at that time you know when the banks not open.

Questions also exist about how many officers initially responded to the Wells Fargo Bank suspicious vehicle call. Statements by Lt. Love during the March 3, 2015 press conference indicate multiple officers responded.

“On Friday night, February 27, officers responded to the Wells Fargo parking lot in reference to a suspicious person. When they arrived they saw a vehicle leaving the area. They saw that vehicle commit a traffic violation. They attempted to stop that vehicle. And that led to a high speed pursuit,” said GFPD officer Lt. Dwight Love.

The reference to multiple officers is odd, because there is no indication that any other officer except Harvala was involved in the initial attempted traffic stop of Elliott; and the BCI report does not state any other officer being with Harvala in his squad car.

Another example of Lt. Love referring to multiple police officers being involved in the very first attempt to pull Elliott over for running s atop sign is when he said, “They initiated a traffic stop.”  

Reporter (female): Yesterday Chief Nelson said that Grand Forks officer’s initiated a chase – where did it actually begin? Lt. Dwight Love: Which one? Reporter (female): The first one. Lt. Dwight Love: The first one – it began just outside the Wells Fargo parking lot – I think it was at an intersection around that area where he violated a traffic stop sign – uh they initiated a traffic stop – he didn’t stop.

 

GFPD Chief Mark Nelson

 

Write Into Action is investigating several other official statements that don’t seem to fit the official narrative given to the public by law enforcement.

One BCI entry is very odd when viewed in the chronological timeline “Trooper (Brittany) Schmidt stated at 11:30 p.m., the vehicle from the earlier pursuit was located in Grand Forks. There was no pursuit at this time,” said the BCI report.

Another BCI entry is odd and involves the possible second person.

Right before getting to the Oslo exit, Trooper Peschong turned his emergency lights off because of DAVID ELLIOTT’s prior actions, and Trooper Peschong did not want to spook him and cause another pursuit. As Trooper Peschong went over the overpass he saw ELLIOTT parked on the southbound ramp nearly on the interstate. ELLIOTT was standing by the driver’s side door of the pickup. Trooper Peschong went past the exit and turned around. -ND BCIWhen Peschong got to the Oslo exit he headed southbound on the ramp. Trooper Peschong stated he was nervous while approaching the on-ramp because ELLIOTT was suicidal and he did not know if ELLIOTT had any weapons. As Trooper Peschong approached the on-ramp, he noticed that ELLIOTT and his vehicle were no longer there. -ND BCI

It is not yet known if Elliott dropped someone off by the side of I-29 for Peschong to pick up.

Write Into Action presently has multiple outstanding requests for public records to the GFPD and UND Police Departments.

UND Police Chief Eric Plummer has not responded whatsoever to Write Into Action’s request for public records.

Karen Yungen was contacted but did not reply.

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.

GoFundMe

VISIT WWW.WRITEINTOACTION.COM