Shooting Witness is in Denial About Slain Militia Member Reaching for Gun

A few days ago, the FBI released the video of LaVoy Finicum‘s death at the hands of police. Finicum had been part of a self-proclaimed “militia” that overtook a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon. One young woman, Victoria Sharp, claimed to have witnessed Finicum being shot by the police.

18-year-old Sharp is a member of the singing family that performed for the militia members a few days before the shooting. She was in the back of the truck he was driving as he fled police, who were acting to arrest the members of the militia.

The video makes it clear that Finicum was reaching for his pocket, in which a loaded gun was later found, which is what prompted the police to open fire. Sharp, however, spoke to CNN and refused to acknowledge the movement from Finicum.

“I was just a few feet away in the truck. I know what I saw,” she said. “He wasn’t doing anything aggressive.”

Even after reviewing the video multiple times as CNN’s Kyung Lah pointed out the moment when Finicum reached for the pocket containing the gun, Sharp maintained that he had been being peaceful, saying, “OK, he was running through snow and it does not look like he is reaching to me. He’s trying to keep his balance. He’s running, I remember it. He didn’t reach for anything.”

Lah spoke to Sharp kindly and almost soothingly up until the last moments of the interview, when she asked if Sharp would really ever consider protesting the federal government after almost being shot herself.

The young woman concluded that his death was inspiring. She stated, “If I lose my life for the future of America, it’s worth it. People lost their lives for our freedom and if I lose mine for the freedom of others, than it’s worth it.”

[image via screengrab]

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