Oregon House passes bill to shield officer who shot ‘LaVoy’ Finicum

The Oregon House overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday that would shield the identity of the officer who shot and killed Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, and potentially others, despite cross-ideological opposition from both Finicum supporters and Black Lives Matter. The 55-3 House vote came in response to threats against the Oregon State Police officer, whose name has yet to be released pending an investigation. “This bill is deadly serious,” said Democratic state Rep. Jeff Barker during Wednesday’s floor debate as reported by the Oregonian. “This isn’t to protect a wrongdoer. It isn’t to protect a police department that screwed up.” Some supporters of Mr. Finicum have insisted that he was “assassinated” or “murdered” after his vehicle was stopped Jan. 26 at an FBI roadblock on Highway 395. Mr. Barker, who amended the bill last week in committee, said he worried about “whack jobs” who were “demanding to know the name of the officer that killed LaVoy.” The bill would allow a judge to withhold for 90 days the identity of an officer involved in the use of deadly force in the event of a “credible threat of danger.” Mr. Finicum’s allies at the Facebook page Oregon Wide Open said the bill would set a troubling precedent and reduce police transparency...more