Pat Tillman shot in the head

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

I didn't want to add any fuel to this, but ignoring it would not be proper. I also question the description of the bullet holes. AP

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman's forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former NFL player's death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

"The medical evidence did not match up with the, with the scenario as described," a doctor who examined Tillman's body after he was killed on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2004 told investigators.

The doctors - whose names were blacked out - said that the bullet holes were so close together that it appeared the Army Ranger was cut down by an M-16 fired from a mere 10 yards or so away.

Ultimately, the Pentagon did conduct a criminal investigation, and asked Tillman's comrades whether he was disliked by his men and whether they had any reason to believe he was deliberately killed. The Pentagon eventually ruled that Tillman's death at the hands of his comrades was a friendly-fire accident.

I have been in close proximity to two friendly fire incidents in which luckily no one was killed. In this instance two things immediately come to mind. One is why the fact that three rounds hit him in the forehead has never been mentioned before. Given the number of leaks about other things and the amount of scrutiny given to this situation I find it astonishing that this was never mentioned. Especially by his family once they began fighting the military about the circumstances of his death. Did they not know that he took three rounds to the forehead? Did they not see his body or read an autopsy report, and if so why have they not used that fact to question the fact that his death was accidental friendly fire?

Which leads directly to my second point. It is highly unlikely that someone could take three rounds to the head accidentally. The head and in this case apparently just the forehead is an extremely small and moving target. If another member of his unit had accidentally fired in his direction on three round burst, one maybe but not likely two rounds could hit a head-sized target. But three is not going to happen just due to muzzle jump. If they fired semi-automatic it is not plausible that three rounds hit him in the forehead in one burst as the first would have caused his entire body to drop at least somewhat.

This assumes that the person firing was not directly in front of Tillman at close range. I am having difficulty imagining a scenario where he could take three accidental rounds to the forehead. Were the rounds all from the same weapon? Have they identified the shooter(s)? Where was he in relation to Tillman?

Since the Army did an investigation and I assume knows the answers to these questions, they were satisfied that this was an accident. Absent that understanding, I'm having a tough time reaching that same conclusion. I do not believe that this means his death was not an accident, but it raises serious questions about where the shooter was in relation to Tillman.

I talked Pat Tillman & Jessica Lynch on CNN a while back as well, the end of that segment is when I knocked the host out when he asked about enemy propaganda and I reminded him CNN ran jihadi sniper propaganda.

---

Mission: To protect and promote the reputation and dignity of America's Warriors.
Join us!

Comments

Pat Tillman shot in the head

I didn't want to add any fuel to this, but ignoring it would not be proper. I also question the description of the bullet holes. AP

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman's forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former NFL player's death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

"The medical evidence did not match up with the, with the scenario as described," a doctor who examined Tillman's body after he was killed on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2004 told investigators.

The doctors - whose names were blacked out - said that the bullet holes were so close together that it appeared the Army Ranger was cut down by an M-16 fired from a mere 10 yards or so away.

Ultimately, the Pentagon did conduct a criminal investigation, and asked Tillman's comrades whether he was disliked by his men and whether they had any reason to believe he was deliberately killed. The Pentagon eventually ruled that Tillman's death at the hands of his comrades was a friendly-fire accident.

I have been in close proximity to two friendly fire incidents in which luckily no one was killed. In this instance two things immediately come to mind. One is why the fact that three rounds hit him in the forehead has never been mentioned before. Given the number of leaks about other things and the amount of scrutiny given to this situation I find it astonishing that this was never mentioned. Especially by his family once they began fighting the military about the circumstances of his death. Did they not know that he took three rounds to the forehead? Did they not see his body or read an autopsy report, and if so why have they not used that fact to question the fact that his death was accidental friendly fire?

Which leads directly to my second point. It is highly unlikely that someone could take three rounds to the head accidentally. The head and in this case apparently just the forehead is an extremely small and moving target. If another member of his unit had accidentally fired in his direction on three round burst, one maybe but not likely two rounds could hit a head-sized target. But three is not going to happen just due to muzzle jump. If they fired semi-automatic it is not plausible that three rounds hit him in the forehead in one burst as the first would have caused his entire body to drop at least somewhat.

This assumes that the person firing was not directly in front of Tillman at close range. I am having difficulty imagining a scenario where he could take three accidental rounds to the forehead. Were the rounds all from the same weapon? Have they identified the shooter(s)? Where was he in relation to Tillman?

Since the Army did an investigation and I assume knows the answers to these questions, they were satisfied that this was an accident. Absent that understanding, I'm having a tough time reaching that same conclusion. I do not believe that this means his death was not an accident, but it raises serious questions about where the shooter was in relation to Tillman.

I talked Pat Tillman & Jessica Lynch on CNN a while back as well, the end of that segment is when I knocked the host out when he asked about enemy propaganda and I reminded him CNN ran jihadi sniper propaganda.

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341bfadb53ef00e3981cf8d68833

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Pat Tillman shot in the head: