New details in the Deedy/Elderts case.

The prosecutors in the Deedy murder case have filed documents which bring to light new details in the case.  First, some background on the case thus far:

State Dept. Special Agent (Bureau of Diplomatic Security, or DS) Christopher Deedy shot and killed a local Hawaiian man, Kollin Elderts, on Nov. 5, 2011, during an argument at 3 a.m. in a Waikiki McDonald’s.  Elderts was unarmed; Deedy carried his knife and gun.  A videotape from inside the McDonald’s is being held as evidence and the judge has ordered it sealed from the public for fear it might taint the jury pool.  Deedy was in Hawai’i in advance of the APEC conference which was held later that month.  He was assigned to help provide diplomatic security for the APEC attendees. No diplomats were present in the McDonald’s that night, needless to say, and the State Dept. refuses to say whether or not Deedy was actually on duty at the time.  Tests on the victim’s body showed that he was legally drunk and had some amount of trace drugs in his system at the time of his death.  While it is known that Deedy had been drinking at a bar with friends prior to going to the McD’s and eyewitnesses say that he was clearly drunk, he was allowed to “decline” a blood-alcohol test at the time of his arrest.  (No law enforcement officer is permitted to carry deadly weapons while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, so the lack of a breathalyzer test may prove to be problematic.)  Deedy actually fired three shots at Elderts – it was the third shot that hit Elderts in the chest and killed him.  You may read background on this case here:

http://teri.nicedriving.org/2012/05/update-on-a-murder-in-hawaii/

Deedy has been charged with two crimes: 2nd degree murder and use of firearm in the commission of a felony.

Deedy’s attorney, Brook Hart, filed a motion to dismiss the charges based on the idea that Deedy was acting in the role of a federal law enforcement officer and thus should be immune to charges.  The judge in this case, Karen Ahn, had scheduled a hearing to occur in July on the motion to dismiss; however, she has removed that hearing from her docket.  Apparently the trial against Deedy will go forward.  The murder trial is currently scheduled for September of this year – 10 months after the incident took place.  In the meantime, Deedy was allowed to post bail and return to Virginia.  He has been placed on a desk job at the State Dept., where he continues to draw his salary.  He has successfully sued the insurance company that carries his tenant’s insurance on the house he rents in Virginia so that the insurance company will now have to cover his legal expenses in the separate civil case for wrongful death filed against him by the Elderts family.[…]

http://teri.nicedriving.org/2012/06/murder-trial-of-state-dept-special-agent-to-go-forward/

Since June, when I wrote the above, Deedy’s attorney lost his motion to move the case to federal court.   He also lost a bid to have the case dismissed on some technical grounds involving presentation of evidence.  The trial was delayed for unknown reasons and did not take place in September.  A jury trial is now scheduled for April, a year and a half after the event occurred.  Deedy’s attorney is now asking that the court dismiss the case based on the idea that Deedy is immune from prosecution because he was acting as a federal law enforcement officer (a hearing on this motion to dismiss was supposed to have occurred in July, but did not) – a contention that the prosecuting attorneys say is invalid.  In the new papers filed this week, prosecutors contend that Deedy was clearly the aggressor in the fight that led to Elderts’ death and that furthermore, Deedy was obviously drunk after being out at various bars with friends, celebrating the birthdays of two of them.

The videotape remains sealed from the public until the trial.  Deedy retains a job at the State Dept. in Virginia, where he was allowed to return shortly after being charged, rather than having to remain in custody in Hawaii.

HONOLULU — A State Department special agent charged with murder in the shooting of a man at a fast-food restaurant in Waikiki last year spent the night bar-hopping and drinking before going to the restaurant, prosecutors said.

Suspect Christopher Deedy appeared intoxicated before firing three shots from his handgun — the first narrowly missed a customer, another lodged in a restaurant wall, and the third fatally wounded 23-year-old Kollin Elderts, prosecutors said in court papers.

Deedy was not heard identifying himself as a law enforcement officer, but told Elderts he had a gun and would shoot him in the face, prosecutors said in the most detailed account of the shooting released thus far.

City Deputy Prosecutor Janice Futa filed the papers Friday in opposition to Deedy’s request for dismissal of the murder charge, the Star-Advertiser reported Wednesday (http://bit.ly/11d3oqS ).

Deedy, 28, has pleaded not guilty. His defense lawyers maintain he is immune from state prosecution under the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause because he was acting as a federal law enforcement officer when the incident occurred.

Deedy identified himself as a law enforcement officer and acted to protect himself and others from a belligerent Elderts, who had assaulted him and tried to grab Deedy’s gun, said Brook Hart, Deedy’s attorney.

Futa countered that Deedy was the aggressor who “thrust kicked” Elderts and repeatedly told him, “I have a gun; I’m going to shoot you in the face.”

Elderts responded, “Shoot me, then,” the deputy prosecutor said in the court filing.

After the kick, Deedy reached for his holstered gun and moved toward Elderts, who then hit Deedy in the face, Futa said.

Deedy fell to the floor, and as he got up he pulled out the gun and began firing, Futa said.

Deedy had been “slurring his words as he argued with Elderts,” the prosecutor said.

“While defendant was bar-hopping he was in possession of his 9 mm Glock; conduct that the Department of State’s rules clearly prohibit,” Futa said.

Deedy was in Hawaii in November 2011 to provide security at the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings.

Circuit Judge Karen Ahn is scheduled to hear the dismissal request Jan. 22. Trial is scheduled for April.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/prosecutors-state-department-agent-was-aggressor-in-fatal-waikiki-shooting-at-restaurant/2012/11/28/ef96f6c8-3983-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html

 

Court documents show new details about the shooting death of Kollin Elderts of Kailua in Waikiki in November of 2011.  Special agent Christopher Deedy has been indicted for his murder.

It was First Friday in November and Elderts had been celebrating two friends’ birthdays.

Deedy was in town to provide security for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings.

Prosecutors say Deedy was partying on this night.  He had been to Kings Pub, then Moose McGillicuddy’s and the now-closed Coconut Willy’s.

Both Elderts and Deedy wound up in the same McDonald’s at 2:30 a.m., according to court documents.

The two started arguing.  One witness, who prosecutors say tried to break it up, says Deedy appeared intoxicated and was slurring his words.

One of Deedy’s friends also tried to break up the fight. But, according to court documents, witnesses say Deedy delivered a thrust kick and was heard saying, “I have a gun.  I’m going to shoot you  in the face.”  Elderts reponded, “Shoot me then.”

A witness says Deedy reached for his gun and that’s when witnesses say Elderts punched Deedy in the face, knocking him to the ground.

As Deedy got up from the floor, court documents say Deedy pulled out his gun and fired three shots — the last hitting Elderts in the chest.

Deedy has argued all along that this was not murder — he was acting as a federal agent.

But, prosecutors say Deedy used unreasonable use of deadly force and instigated the fight that led to the shooting.

A jury trial is set for April.

Deedy’s attorney Brook Hart is trying to get the case dismissed under federal immunity protection and plans to file a response by Friday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50004366/

 

 

Murder trial of State Dept. Special Agent to go forward.

State Dept. Special Agent (Bureau of Diplomatic Security, or DS) Christopher Deedy shot and killed a local Hawaiian man, Kollin Elderts, on Nov. 5, 2011, during an argument at 3 a.m. in a Waikiki McDonald’s.  Elderts was unarmed; Deedy carried his knife and gun.  A videotape from inside the McDonald’s is being held as evidence and the judge has ordered it sealed from the public for fear it might taint the jury pool.  Deedy was in Hawai’i in advance of the APEC conference which was held later that month.  He was assigned to help provide diplomatic security for the APEC attendees. No diplomats were present in the McDonald’s that night, needless to say, and the State Dept. refuses to say whether or not Deedy was actually on duty at the time.  Tests on the victim’s body showed that he was legally drunk and had some amount of trace drugs in his system at the time of his death.  While it is known that Deedy had been drinking at a bar with friends prior to going to the McD’s and eyewitnesses say that he was clearly drunk, he was allowed to “decline” a blood-alcohol test at the time of his arrest.  (No law enforcement officer is permitted to carry deadly weapons while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, so the lack of a breathalyzer test may prove to be problematic.)  Deedy actually fired three shots at Elderts – it was the third shot that hit Elderts in the chest and killed him.  You may read background on this case here:

http://teri.nicedriving.org/2012/05/update-on-a-murder-in-hawaii/

Deedy has been charged with two crimes: 2nd degree murder and use of firearm in the commission of a felony.

Deedy’s attorney, Brook Hart, filed a motion to dismiss the charges based on the idea that Deedy was acting in the role of a federal law enforcement officer and thus should be immune to charges.  The judge in this case, Karen Ahn, had scheduled a hearing to occur in July on the motion to dismiss; however, she has removed that hearing from her docket.  Apparently the trial against Deedy will go forward.  The murder trial is currently scheduled for September of this year – 10 months after the incident took place.  In the meantime, Deedy was allowed to post bail and return to Virginia.  He has been placed on a desk job at the State Dept., where he continues to draw his salary.  He has successfully sued the insurance company that carries his tenant’s insurance on the house he rents in Virginia so that the insurance company will now have to cover his legal expenses in the separate civil case for wrongful death filed against him by the Elderts family.

June 15–State Circuit Judge Karen Ahn has removed from her calendar a hearing on a motion by the attorney for Christopher Deedy to dismiss a murder charge against the State Department special agent.

Ahn had scheduled July 13 to hear motions by Deedy’s attorney, Brook Hart, who wants the murder case dismissed. Deedy, 28, is scheduled to stand trial in Ahn’s court on Sept. 10 on charges of second-degree murder and use of a firearm.

Hart said Thursday he does not view Ahn’s action as a setback. No reason was given for the hearing’s removal from her calendar.  He said there are other motions he is considering, as well as the possibility of moving Deedy’s case to federal court.

Earlier, Hart said Deedy was in Honolulu as a federal law enforcement officer on an official U.S. State Department assignment with the power of arrest and the right to carry a firearm when he shot and killed Kollin Elderts, 23, Nov. 5 at a Waikiki McDonald’s restaurant.

In legal papers filed in Circuit Court June 8 opposing Hart’s request for more materials, city Deputy Prosector Janice Futa said Deedy was “the first aggressor” in an early morning fight inside the fast-food restaurant.

Futa said “independent witnesses stated that Deedy acted as the first aggressor, escalating a verbal argument into a physical confrontation when he (Deedy) thrust kicked Elderts in the chest/stomach area and threw his slippers at Elderts, striking Elderts in the head.”

She said all police reports as well as relevant written or recorded witness statements have been provided to Hart.  Futa said Hart is “conducting a fishing expedition” with his requests.

She also said Hart’s request for the criminal records of Elderts, his companion that night — Shane Medeiros — and potential witnesses, and for the birth dates and Social Security numbers of all potential witnesses, is not relevant to the case.

Earlier this month, Ahn, a former congressional aide and television journalist, granted a prosecution request to seal the restaurant’s surveillance videos.

The judge also kept private portions of the court document referring to events depicted on the surveillance videos of the shooting.  Hart and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, its television news partner Hawaii News Now and online news site Hawaii Reporter opposed the sealing.

Ahn ruled that the videos, if released, would essentially go viral on the Internet and provide images that could jeopardize a fair trial for the prosecution, defense or both.

Hart filed the dismissal motion and exhibits that included the surveillance videos on May 14, which as court filings normally would have been public. But the filings were kept private because of the prosecution’s pending request and the judge’s ruling.
Hart has said federal law empowers a federal officer to act within the scope of his duties to protect a person from a “crime of violence.”

Deedy acted, Hart has said, in response to “attacks” on himself and a friend.

The State Department has said Deedy was in Hawaii as a member of its Bureau of Diplomatic Security to provide security for leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference.

Deedy is free on $250,000 bail and has returned to his home in Virginia awaiting the Honolulu criminal trial.

(c)2012 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser
– from the print edition of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser

 

Update on a Murder in Hawai’i.

Updated below.

There is a new development in the Deedy/Elderts murder case in Hawai’i.  My first article on this case is here: http://teri.nicedriving.org/2011/11/a-murder-in-hawaii/
Here is a brief summary from my second article to bring you up to speed (link to the full article at the end of this quote):

[…]The gist of the case is as follows:  on the 5th of November, a special agent named Christopher Deedy, assigned to protect diplomats who would be attending the APEC conference in Hawaii, went out on the town.  For some reason, he was carrying his gun and a knife while out drinking.  He had an argument of some sort with a 23-year-old Hawaiian resident named Kollin Elderts while both were drinking in a bar.  Elderts left the bar and went to the nearby McDonald’s.  Special Agent Deedy followed Elderts there.  Their argument apparently continued.  Eye-witness testimonies differ slightly on several small details, which I will point out as they occur in the story.   The internet has now been scrubbed of the witness statements and 911 calls, and even some of the original news stories have disappeared.

At the McDonald’s, the two men (and possibly several others, friends of one or the other – accounts differ) argued.  Tests on Elderts’ body later showed that he was legally drunk at the time of his death.  Deedy “declined” a blood-alcohol test, although a number of witnesses said he appeared intoxicated.  At one point, Elderts laughingly asked Deedy, “What are you going to do – shoot me?”, to which Deedy responded, “How would you like to get shot tonight?”  All witnesses agree that Deedy then kicked Elderts in the chest, knocking him down.  Deedy then pulled out his service revolver and fired three shots, one of which hit Elderts in the chest, killing him.  At this point, accounts differ again.  According to one witness, Deedy left the McDonald’s immediately, but came back in when sirens were heard.  According to other witnesses, Deedy never left.  In any case, by the time the police and paramedics got there, Deedy had pulled out his knife, cut open Elderts’ shirt, and started CPR on Elderts.  [This is the strangest way to perform CPR I’ve ever heard of and I dare not speculate on why Deedy pulled out his knife.  I leave that to your imagination.]

A security tape from inside the McDonald’s exists and was used to charge Deedy with 2nd degree murder.  This tape has not been released to the public, although it would answer any questions as to the sequence of events and who “aggressed” on whom.  It is known for certain, however, that Elderts had no weapon of any sort.  The police also have bar receipts showing Deedy’s purchases at the bar earlier which would offer evidence of how much he drank and verify the fact that he was in the bar at the same time as Elderts and did, in fact, follow Elderts to the McDonald’s.  The claim that Deedy was acting in self-defense or in defense of others is peculiar, considering that Elderts was unarmed and had already been knocked to the ground by Deedy’s karate kick to the chest.[…]

Deedy was charged with 2nd degree murder (rather than 1st degree), and was allowed to go free after posting a $250,000 bond.  He was placed on paid administrative leave from the State Department and told to remain in Hawaii.  Now, however, he has been allowed to return to his home in Virginia and will work at a desk job at the State Dept.  I don’t know what you have to do to actually get fired from the State Dept, but apparently murdering the locals doesn’t do it.  The trial has been postponed until September.[…] Nowhere is it explained why a person who is charged with murder, State Dept. employee or not, was set free on bail or allowed to leave the state in which he is charged.[…] In any case, Deedy was on paid leave during this time.  His income has not been affected by the murder charges, except to the extent that he had to rent a condo in paradise while awaiting trial. The State Department will not answer any questions on this case beyond saying that they “support” Deedy; I wonder if their support included paying his Hawaiian condo rent until he returned home on Saturday.

[From news article Honolulu, Hawaii 31 Dec, 2011
by Ken Kohnyashi]:
Agent accused in fatal shooting can travel.  Christopher Deedy will return to live and work in Virginia until his trial.

State Department special agent Christopher Deedy can now return home to Virginia pending his trial in September on charges of murdering a 23-year-old Kailua man early Nov 5 at the McDonald’s restaurant on Kuhio Avenue.

Circuit Judge Karen Ahn granted a request Friday by Deedy’s lawyer Brook Hart to modify the bail conditions to allow him to leave Hawaii and reside at his Virginia home and work at a desk job with the State Department.[…]

She also set conditions that include requiring that Deedy be unarmed and work at a desk job.  In addition, he cannot travel beyond 100 miles of his home.[…] -the Star Advertiser, print version.

[Teri]: Actually, he has already returned home; he immediately took a late night flight back to Virginia after the hearing.  Guess arranging for a flight isn’t so difficult when you have the support of the State Department.

[from news article]: 27-year-old Christopher Deedy returned to his home in Virginia Saturday after gaining special permission to leave Oahu while awaiting trial[…]

He will not return to his normal work as a State Dept. agent, according to Hart.  He will continue working for the department as an analyst and is not permitted to have his weapon or engage in other security detail.  Under the special agreement Deedy must also stay within a 100 mile radius of his Northern Virginia home.

Deedy’s lawyer issued assurances that he will return to court when criminal proceedings continue, which is currently set for September 10, 2012.[…]

http://www.kitv.com/news/30110360/detail.html#ixzz1iCaNMW00http://

teri.nicedriving.org/2012/01/follow-up-to-a-murder-in-hawaii/

A few points that I bring up in the comment section in the above article:

1) If Deedy had identified himself first, eye-witnesses would have said so. Not one single person interviewed for the news stories made any such remark, nor did anyone in the 911 tapes. Deedy was only referred to as “a guy”, “someone” or “a caucasian” who got in a fight with “another guy”, etc. Secondly, if he had properly ID’d himself, his attorney certainly would have brought that to light, as it would go a long way in exonerating his client. His attorney has taken pains to point out that Deedy is LEO [law enforcement officer], but has never said that Deedy identified himself as such. I don’t think that the grand jury would have indicted him on any level of murder charges had they felt he was legitimately acting in the role of LEO – they might have considered it negligent homicide, but not murder. I don’t believe that cops and other LEO get indicted on murder charges every time they kill someone in the line of duty.

2) As to whether or not Deedy was drunk himself; his own attorney won’t say. The att’y has said that Deedy was within his rights to refuse a blood alcohol test prior to arrest and in one interview for a local Hawaiian station, when asked if Deedy had been drinking, made the comment, “Well, he had been at a bar.” That is all he has said.

3) Federal law allows LEOs to carry concealed weapons on duty or off, but one of the stipulations is that the officer may not carry when under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

4) Deedy is charged with two offenses. The issue of whether Deedy was acting as LEO and/or whether or not he was drinking seems to be addressed by the second charge he is facing: Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony, Hawaii Revised Statutes, HRS 134-21.

5) You [original commenter I am replying to] are mistaken in your belief about why Deedy was charged with second degree murder.[…] It turns out that in Hawaii, unlike most of the other states, 1st degree murder only applies in very limited cases, with strict definitions.

“Under Hawaii law, second-degree murder is defined as occurring simply ‘if the person intentionally or knowingly causes the death of another person,’ while first-degree murder involves specific kinds of victims.

“First-degree murder would pertain to someone who intentionally or knowingly causes the death of: more than one person in the same or separate incident; a law enforcement officer, judge or prosecutor involved in the prosecution; a witness in a criminal prosecution; a person by a hired killer, in which case the killer and the person who did the hiring would be charged; or a person while the defendant was imprisoned.”

Deedy is being charged with 2nd degree (HRS 707-701.5) because Elderts was not a judge, a LEO, a witness in a case, etc., and because Elderts was the only victim. It has nothing to do with Deedy’s intent or foreknowledge of Elderts. – from my own comment on “Follow up to a murder in Hawai’i.”

This past Monday, Deedy’s attorney filed a motion to have the charges dismissed.

Star Advertiser 17 May, 2012

Agent Claims Immunity in Shooting

The State Department special agent accused of fatally shooting a man at a McDonald’s restaurant in Waikiki in November claims he was performing his duties as a federal law enforcement officer and is therefore immune from prosecution under state law, according to records filed in the case this week.

Christopher Deedy, 28, is scheduled to stand trial in state court for murder in September.

However, his lawyer, Brook Hart, filed legal papers seeking to dismiss the case or to at least delay his trial.  Hart filed the documents Monday detailing Deedy’s version the events that culminated in the Nov. 5 fatal shooting of Kollin Elderts, 23, and the reasons Deedy believes he should not be prosecuted.[…]

Hart says Deedy was in Honolulu as a federal law enforcement officer on an official State Dept. assignment with the power of arrest and the right to carry a firearm.[…]

Deedy has claimed in previously filed documents that he was defending himself and his friend[…]when he shot Elderts.  He submitted a report from the doctor who treated him at the Queen’s Medical Center after his arrest.  The report from Dr. Kyle Perry says Deedy a scrapes and a broken nose from an assault.[…]

[Judge] Ahn is scheduled to hear arguments in July on Deedy’s immunity claim, his request to delay the trial, and a second request for a dismissal contending the grand jury proceedings in the case were defective.

As a matter of course, the defense received a video of the proceedings, which shows a prosecutor and police detective describing events as they unfold on a McDonald’s surveillance video.  The video was played to the grand jury on a television, but the video of the proceedings does not show the TV screen, leaving doubt as to whom and what the prosecutor and officer are talking about, Deedy claims.

Police said Deedy shot Elderts in the chest after an argument.  When officers arrived at the restaurant Deedy and Elderts were both covered in blood.  The officers said Deedy told them he had a gun and had shot Elderts.  Deedy also said he had a pocketknife, which police recovered in the restaurant.  Officers also noted that Deedy had red, glassy eyes and slurred speech.

It was Deedy who started the fight by kicking Elderts in the chest, said lawyer Michael Green, who is representing Elderts’ parents in their lawsuit against Deedy.

According to an autopsy, Elderts had abrasions from gunpowder on the right side of his face, a blood alcohol content of 0.127 and traces of the active ingredient in marijuana and cocaine in his system.

– from print version of Star Advertiser article, Thurs., 17 May, 2012

Deedy’s mug shots, taken shortly after his arrest, certainly show no sign of a broken nose.  Nor does he appear to have a broken nose, or marks or bruises of any sort on his face, in the photos taken by reporters at his grand jury hearing a few days later.  Witnesses say that after Deedy kicked Elderts to the ground, Elderts got to his feet and hit Deedy in retaliation.  That might be the point at which Deedy was injured, although from photos, he clearly suffered no major injuries at all.

Elderts had abrasions on his face from gunpowder residue.  That’s very close-range.  Deedy must have tried to shoot him in the face.  Maybe the first or second shot, both of which missed – the third, of course, entering Elderts’ chest.

The argument about the McD’s video is not that the jury couldn’t see the video or that the McD’s video doesn’t show what it is purported to show, but that in the courthouse video of the grand jury proceedings itself, whoever filmed the hearing was not positioned to catch both the witnesses testifying and the tv screen at the same time.  If the grand jury comes up with a true bill – i.e., decides the evidence merits prosecution – which they did in this case, the accused and his attorney are entitled to a transcript of witness testimony.

Each side has to share evidence prior to trial.  Since the McD’s tape is being used as key evidence, Deedy and his attorney will or already have received a copy of the original McDonald’s tape.  The whole “can’t see the tv” thing is a moot point.

In fact, today the same newspaper, the Star Advertiser, mentions this:

City prosecutors are asking a state judge to keep sealed a request to dismiss a murder charge against a State Department special agent and its supporting exhibits, which include surveillance videotapes of the fatal shooting at a McDonald’s Waikiki restaurant last year.

The defense for special agent Christopher Deedy this week filed the dismissal motion and supporting exhibits that include McDonald’s videotapes at the Kuhio Avenue restaurant.[…]

http://www.staradvertiser.com/s?action=login&f=y&id=152002455

I mentioned Peter Van Buren’s take on this case in my previous articles.  His opinion is interesting as it comes from a current State Dept. employee.  The following, however, is from the blog of a different and now-retired State Dept. employee, who held the same position that Deedy currently does.

Update: The Murder of Kollin K. Elderts in Honolulu: Thoughts and Analysis

Having devoted a career as a special agent at the US Department of State, I consider myself more than qualified to offer some thoughts on the murder of Kollin K. Elderts, 23, by US Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) special agent (S/A) Christopher W. Deedy, 27 in Honolulu on Saturday (November 5).

Although I strongly disagree with persons who have been charged with serious felonies to be tried in the court of public opinion, there are a number of issues in this case that concern me.

As a follow-up to my earlier posting on Deedy’s shooting death of Elderts, what makes this case so perplexing is the lack of news coverage on it since it occurred on November 5. Hence, my comments.

Unfortunately, my observations raise far more questions than they address.[…]

Was S/A On-Duty at the Time He Shot Elderts? No, considering that he was reportedly intoxicated, according to witnesses at the scene.

Was Elderts armed with a weapon? According to the Elderts family attorney, Michael Green, Elderts was not armed. Although police found a knife at the scene, it has not been connected to a specific owner. [Teri’s note: this has been clarified since.  Deedy claimed ownership of the knife found at the scene.]

Was Deedy armed with a firearm? Yes. From all indications he was carrying his DS-issued service weapon, even though according to witnesses he was visibly intoxicated. A prudent agent who knew he would be drinking while off duty, who did NOT have full police powers, would have locked the weapon in his car or secured it in a hotel safe deposit box.

Why was a DS agent assigned to Honolulu to support the protection of dignitaries at APEC intoxicated at 0300 hours in the morning? Unfortunately, there is no reasonable explanation to this question, particularly in light of the fact that he was carrying his service weapon while intoxicated.[…]

Has Deedy been charged with a crime? Yes, reportedly he was arrested and charged with 2nd degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Yet, he was released on $250,000 bail with no apparent restriction to remain in Honolulu.

Although DS agents are issued Diplomatic passports, they are not accredited diplomats when assigned domestically.

It is not normal for those charged with murder to be released on bail, particularly when they have the resources to flee the jurisdiction. One can only assume that he was released on bail because he was a federal agent.

What were the details of the altercation between Deedy and Elderts? According to press reports, after leaving a local bar, Elderts ended up in the Waikiki McDonald’s where they were joking around with workers in the restaurant when Deedy and three others walked into the restaurant. From all indications, an altercation commenced when Deedy “karate-kicked” Elderts in the chest, knocking him down, resulting in Elderts hitting Deedy. The two then began struggling with each other when Deedy fired three shots, one of which hit Elderts in the chest.

Were either Deedy or Elderts intoxicated? This question is problematic. Although the medical examiner’s office reported that Elderts blood-alcohol level was 0.12%, it is unknown whether Honolulu police conducted a breathalyzer test on Deedy before he was released on bail. If it was not conducted, it should have been.[…]

http://stayingsafeabroad.blogspot.com/2011/11/murder-of-kollin-k-elderts-in-honolulu.html

Deedy has already been allowed to bypass his travel restrictions (he was allowed to return to Va., provided he stay within 100 miles of his home.  His office at the State Dept. is within this radius.):

[…]Meanwhile, Deedy has been allowed to travel beyond his current 100-mile radius restriction. According to court documents, he has the court’s permission to attend a wedding July 27 in Cape Charles, Va. He was granted permission to visit his 84-year-old grandmother earlier this month in Naples, Fla.[…]

Hart also wants to delay the trial, scheduled for September, until at least March 2013.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/241956323d7641569602826373f42cf5/HI–Hawaii-Restaurant-Shooting/#share

Judge Ahn will rule on the motions to dismiss charges or to delay the trial in July.  If she agrees to delay the trial, it will mean that the Elderts family will have waited almost a year and a half to get justice in this case.  In the meantime, Deedy will be receiving his full salary as a State Dept. employee.  And he has had the unheard-of benefits of being allowed to post bail and leave the jurisdiction after being charged with murder, and has been able to have the trial delayed for months already.  The State Dept. refuses to discuss the case with the press.

UPDATE:  Sunday.

It turns out the insurance company who carries Deedy’s renter’s insurance on the Virginia house he and his wife live in, Allstate, has to cover the cost of his legal fees in the civil case being brought against him by the Elderts family.

BY JIM DOOLEY – In a flurry of motions this week, the attorney for accused murderer Christopher Deedy said the State Department security officer is immune from state criminal charges and accused prosecutors of improperly recording evidence against Deedy given to the grand jury last year.

In a related court development today, a federal judge in Virginia ruled that Deedy’s legal expenses in a wrongful death lawsuit pending against him here are covered by a renter’s insurance policy issued to Deedy and his wife in Arlington, VA in late 2010 by Allstate Insurance Co. […]

Another legal dispute related to the killing is playing out in federal court, where the family of Elderts has filed a civil suit against Deedy.Deedy made a claim against his Virginia renter’s insurance policy for coverage of his legal expenses in the lawsuit.

In Virginia federal court, Allstate said it was not obligated to pay Deedy’s legal expenses.

Today, Virginia U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Trenga ruled for Deedy, holding that Allstate has “a duty to defend” him in the suit.

Local attorney Robert Richards, who represents Deedy in the civil case here, confirmed that Allstate is now liable for Deedy’s legal bills.

Richards said he doesn’t expect the trial in the civil case to begin until after completion of the criminal case.

Michael Green, who represents the Elderts family in the civil case, said the U.S. State Department and Justice Department have not made a decision on whether to defend Deedy in the civil case.

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/legal-motions-fly-in-murder-case-against-u-s-state-department-agent-christopher-deedy/123

 

Follow-up to “A Murder in Hawai’i”

See my original post “A Murder in Hawai’i” here:

http://teri.nicedriving.org/2011/11/a-murder-in-hawaii/

The gist of the case is as follows:  on the 5th of November, a special agent named Christopher Deedy, assigned to protect diplomats who would be attending the APEC conference in Hawaii, went out on the town.  For some reason, he was carrying his gun and a knife while out drinking.  He had an argument of some sort with a 23-year-old Hawaiian resident named Kollin Elderts while both were drinking in a bar.  Elderts left the bar and went to the nearby McDonald’s.  Special Agent Deedy followed Elderts there.  Their argument apparently continued.  Eye-witness testimonies differ slightly on several small details, which I will point out as they occur in the story.   The internet has now been scrubbed of the witness statements and 911 calls, and even some of the original news stories have disappeared.

At the McDonald’s, the two men (and possibly several others, friends of one or the other – accounts differ) argued.  Tests on Elderts’ body later showed that he was legally drunk at the time of his death.  Deedy “declined” a blood-alcohol test, although a number of witnesses said he appeared intoxicated.  At one point, Elderts laughingly asked Deedy, “What are you going to do – shoot me?”, to which Deedy responded, “How would you like to get shot tonight?”  All witnesses agree that Deedy then kicked Elderts in the chest, knocking him down.  Deedy then pulled out his service revolver and fired three shots, one of which hit Elderts in the chest, killing him.  At this point, accounts differ again.  According to one witness, Deedy left the McDonald’s immediately, but came back in when sirens were heard.  According to other witnesses, Deedy never left.  In any case, by the time the police and paramedics got there, Deedy had pulled out his knife, cut open Elderts’ shirt, and started CPR on Elderts.  [This is the strangest way to perform CPR I’ve ever heard of and I dare not speculate on why Deedy pulled out his knife.  I leave that to your imagination.]

A security tape from inside the McDonald’s exists and was used to charge Deedy with 2nd degree murder.  This tape has not been released to the public, although it would answer any questions as to the sequence of events and who “aggressed” on whom.  It is known for certain, however, that Elderts had no weapon of any sort.  The police also have bar receipts showing Deedy’s purchases at the bar earlier which would offer evidence of how much he drank and verify the fact that he was in the bar at the same time as Elderts and did, in fact, follow Elderts to the McDonald’s.  The claim that Deedy was acting in self-defense or in defense of others is peculiar, considering that Elderts was unarmed and had already been knocked to the ground by Deedy’s karate kick to the chest.  Eye-witnesses were, oddly enough, only interviewed briefly the night of the murder, with little to no follow-up.  For awhile, one could also listen to their 911 calls on youtube.  Those interviews, transcripts of interviews, and 911 calls have since been scrubbed from the internet, or otherwise suppressed – either by the police department pending the trial or by some other party such as attorneys or perhaps even the State Department, seemingly on behalf of Deedy’s defense.

Deedy was charged with 2nd degree murder (rather than 1st degree), and was allowed to go free after posting a $250,000 bond.  He was placed on paid administrative leave from the State Department and told to remain in Hawaii.  Now, however, he has been allowed to return to his home in Virginia and will work at a desk job at the State Dept.  I don’t know what you have to do to actually get fired from the State Dept, but apparently murdering the locals doesn’t do it.  The trial has been postponed until September, by which time, the McDonald’s security tape may well mysteriously vanish.  Nowhere is it explained why a person who is charged with murder, State Dept. employee or not, was set free on bail or allowed to leave the state in which he is charged.  I doubt that had the situation been reversed, and Elderts been the one charged with murder, any judge would feel sympathy enough for his “financial situation” to release him to return to work thousands of miles away.  In any case, Deedy was on paid leave during this time.  His income has not been affected by the murder charges, except to the extent that he had to rent a condo in paradise while awaiting trial. The State Department will not answer any questions on this case beyond saying that they “support” Deedy; I wonder if their support included paying his Hawaiian condo rent until he returned home on Saturday.

Honolulu, Hawaii 31 Dec, 2011
by Ken Kohnyashi
Agent accused in fatal shooting can travel.  Christopher Deedy will return to live and work in Virginia until his trial.

State Department special agent Christopher Deedy can now return home to Virginia pending his trial in September on charges of murdering a 23-year-old Kailua man early Nov 5 at the McDonald’s restaurant on Kuhio Avenue.

Circuit Judge Karen Ahn granted a request Friday by Deedy’s lawyer Brook Hart to modify the bail conditions to allow him to leave Hawaii and reside at his Virginia home and work at a desk job with the State Department.

After the hearing, Deedy’s only comment was that he was “glad to be going home.”  Hart said Deedy could get there this weekend, depending on whether they can arrange for a flight.

Deedy, 27, of Arlington, Va., who was here for the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, is charged with fatally shooting Kollin Elderts in the chest.

Deputy Prosecutor Jan Futa opposed the defense request, saying Deedy has no family or ties here and “good reason” not to return.

Ahn noted that Deedy has posted bond covering the $250,000 bail already approved by another judge.

“I cannot believe the federal government will permit anything other than the proper administration of justice,” she said.

She also set conditions that include requiring that Deedy be unarmed and work at a desk job.  In addition, he cannot travel beyond 100 miles of his home.

In arguing for the modification, Hart told Ahn that his client has the “complete support of the State Department” and has “a compelling case of self-defense and defense of others.”

In his request, Hart said that his client’s bond was posted by the equity in his parents’ $455,000 home.

He also said Deedy has educational loans totaling $85,000, which were cosigned by his sister and aunt, who would be left with the debt if Deedy fled.

Hart said Deedy cannot afford to pay the $1400 monthly rent for his Virginia home and his current $900 a month rent for a one-bedroom unit in a hotel-condominium building here.

His most significant asset, Hart said of his client, who has worked about 2 1/2 years with the State Department, is a 2001 auto worth about $1800.

-the Star Advertiser, print version.

Actually, he has already returned home; he immediately took a late night flight back to Virginia after the hearing.  Guess arranging for a flight isn’t so difficult when you have the support of the State Department.

27-year-old Christopher Deedy returned to his home in Virginia Saturday after gaining special permission to leave Oahu while awaiting trial.  According to Deedy’s lawyer for his criminal proceedings, Brook Hart, Circuit Judge Karen Ahn granted the special permission Friday afternoon.  Deedy then took a “late night” flight back to Virginia that evening.  Hart added that the permission likely granted as a result of Deedy’s home and work being conducted in Northern Virginia…

He will not return to his normal work as a State Dept. agent, according to Hart.  He will continue working for the department as an analyst and is not permitted to have his weapon or engage in other security detail.  Under the special agreement Deedy must also stay within a 100 mile radius of his Northern Virginia home.

Deedy’s lawyer issued assurances that he will return to court when criminal proceedings continue, which is currently set for September 10, 2012…

Read more:

http://www.kitv.com/news/30110360/detail.html#ixzz1iCaNMW00

 

A murder in Hawai’i

Last week, President Obama attended the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation – 21 nations “working together to advance regional economic integration and prosperity”) summit in Honolulu, Hawaii. The island of Oahu was being prepared for weeks in advance for this conference of international dignitaries, finance ministers, and heads of state. The business people of Hawaii had been promised a financial bonanza as a result of the conference. From East-West Center in 2009, after the 2011 meeting place was decided:

“The Hawai‘i meetings, scheduled for November 12-20, 2011 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, are expected to draw more than 10,000 people to Honolulu, a welcome boost for the state’s struggling tourism industry.

” ‘APEC 2011 will be a big economic boost and provide huge publicity benefits for Hawai‘i,’ Morrison said. ‘There are lots of preparations to be made over the next two years to maximize the benefits of this meeting, including its longer-term implications as a new business opportunity for Hawai‘i. The Singapore APEC meeting now going on shows that, with good planning, APEC can have many benefits without disrupting normal social and business activity.’ ”

Didn’t happen. As a matter of fact, you might want to read this article, “Business Owners to Sue Over APEC Losses”; http://tinyurl.com/77voboo

Conditions on the ground ended up being quite different from what was supposed to occur. Normal social and business activities were, in fact, so disrupted that local businesses had to close their doors for the week of the summit and residents stocked up on food so that they would not have to face the hours of sitting in their cars, waiting for their car to be searched, every time they wanted to leave or re-enter residential areas to go grocery shopping.

From a friend that corresponds to the Honolulu paper:

The organized grab of all public spaces is unprecedented in modern Hawaii. Not since 1893, when U.S. Marine flagships seized Hawaii’s ports and forced regime change by placing the Queen Lili’oukalani  under house arrest for the remaining 17 years of her life has such a military clamp-down been experienced in the state.  The Queen had just voluntarily written the Hawaiian Constitution, which was adopted by the country, to supersede the monarchy.  From the leeward (western) side of Oahu, north and south and all the way to Kaneohe – the gorgeous windward coast (fully dominated by the U.S. military), and all the way from Honolulu to Obama’s precious Disneyland where he held his meetings despite that the APEC conference was being held over an hour away in downtown Honolulu at the Convention Center, all the way east past the Diamondhead Crater, and all points in between, was a milieu of police, state department security, and military coordination. Air, land, and sea. And all completely closed off to the public: those that live there and those whose vacations or honeymoons had brought them there expecting to experience paradise. No better opportunity for movement of munitions or whatever hidden things they want to move, and collaboration amongst branches of the military, police, state department, and mercenary security services has ever occurred here. Tourists and locals found only antiseptic parks across the whole of Waikiki and downtown Honolulu, and from Kapi’olani from the Diamondhead Crater all the way to Ko’olina, an hour by car with only one freeway – closed for APEC, including all overpasses, underpasses, and connecting surface streets; with all traffic stopped and searched on entry. Gunboats, zodiacs with manned machine gun turrets at the fore and seriously heavy weaponry carried by the rest of the crew, made sure that no-one entered the waters of Waikiki. The Duke Kahanamoku statue lacked for any company except the metal and concrete barriers placed to end entry to the downtown and tourist districts, and determined looking uniformed or “under cover” black t-shirted men patrolled all corridors with guns displayed. Roads in and out were closed way beyond any published schedules; cul de sacs were established from normally open commuter paths and all automobiles and pedestrians were searched with the only “probable cause” being that they either worked or had intentioned to vacation in Honolulu. Not to be. Nor did the APEC VIP’s see anything of Hawaii. They viewed closed highways, closed roads, empty beaches, and more armed personnel than their fondest back-home memories. The promise of much money to be garnered by businesses catering to APEC was killed at the onset by the complete sweep and closure of the entire southern side of the city under the guise of stripping all homeless areas, nightclub districts, beaches, and all tourist gathering places of threats. And with their commerce, mobility, and homes taken from them, it was inevitable that some would show strain. Not all of the strained populace survived the armed men in their midst. Residents had been warned that the APEC folk (and the corporate CEO’s buying access at the ludicrously expensive meetings with Obama or various Asian Heads of State or Finance Ministers such as Geithner or Clinton, America’s Secretary of State); warned that they “came from societies that had different notions about sex trade” than us good American Hawaiians and which justified thereby the complete crackdown against anyone that didn’t suit their notions of the appearance of proprietary. And at the end of it, Obama didn’t even have them take the traditional picture in native garb – in this case the local artisans that had created leis and aloha shirts were completely stiffed. As were all businesses, tourists, and residents. These APEC men owned the town, closed down the town, and wore business suits looking more like IMF than if they’d appointed permanent rulers to enforce the austerity even after they finally left.

In advance of the summit, State Dept. Special Agents (Bureau of Diplomatic Security) were dispatched to Hawaii to set up security. One of these agents was Christopher Deedy.  On 5 Nov., the off-duty Deedy had an altercation in a nightclub with a 23-year-old Hawaiian resident, Kollin Elderts. (Accounts differ as to where the two first encountered each other. However, the latest news reports seem to all be in agreement that the two men had an argument in the bar, which Elderts left before Deedy did.)  Deedy followed Elderts to the Waikiki McDonalds, where he continued the argument and ended up shooting and killing Elderts.

Before I give any news summaries of the events, I want to point out how eerily similar this case is to the Raymond Allen Davis case; Davis was a private security firm employee on contract with the CIA who shot and killed 2 men in Pakistan on 27 Jan this year. You can review that case here: http://tinyurl.com/4jut24k.

The Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS or DSS) was set up in 1916. From the State Dept website, the job description of Special Agent is as follows:

Diplomatic Security special agents are federal law enforcement officers who serve worldwide. Overseas, our special agents advise ambassadors on all security issues and coordinate all of a mission’s security programs. In the United States, agents investigate passport and visa fraud and protect the Secretary of State and visiting foreign dignitaries.

Per wikipedia, these agents are issued the following weapons:

Standard issue:
SIG P228 in 9 mm (pistol)
SIG P229 R DA/SA in 9 mm (pistol)
Remington 870 (12 gauge shotgun)
Colt SMG (9 mm submachine gun)
Colt M4 (5.56 mm Carbine)
Additional issue:
M249 light machine gun (SAW)
M240 machine gun
M203 grenade launcher

These and other weapons systems may be employed by DSS Special Agents assigned to high-threat locations. The agents going to those locations attend additional thorough training in these weapons before they are deployed.

The State Dept is declining to give much information out about Christopher Deedy personally, however, it appears most of the Special Agents are on contract from three mercenary groups.

As per allgov:

As the second largest component of the US Department of State, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) is part law enforcement agency, part intelligence operation, responsible for protecting the personnel, information and property associated with America’s embassies and other diplomatic posts. The bureau also provides protection in the US for the Secretary of State, the US Ambassador to the United Nations and foreign dignitaries below the head-of-state level who visit the United States.
DS employs almost 500 special agents in over 150 countries, along with hundreds of private security guards through contracts with companies such as Blackwater USA. The use of private contractors created a huge controversy for DS in the fall of 2006 when Blackwater guards killed numerous civilians in Baghdad, Iraq as a result of an attack on a convoy carrying American diplomats.

 

In Aug, ’10, Blackwater (now Xe) paid a 42 million dollar fine for charges related to its Iraq operations and was allowed to resume its contracts with the State Dept.

The Obama administration awarded Xe Services a quarter of a billion dollar contract to work for the U.S. State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan.

From the Washington Independent:

In 2005, the State Department issued a four-year contract, valued at $560 million per year, to provide on-the-ground security for its diplomats in dangerous areas around the world with three leading private security companies: Blackwater [now Xe], Triple Canopy and DynCorp. The U.S. military does not consider the provision of security for diplomats in war zones to be its job. The State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which controls the WPPS contract, possesses a workforce of about 1450 special agents, leading it to rely on contractors for security, according to a 2007 investigation by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.).
http://tinyurl.com/ydzfe6d

The number given above (1450 special agents) was the number of the agents specifically designated as DSS agents in 2007.  The State Dept has used contractors in other sub-departments in higher numbers over the years; i.e., the number 1450 does not represent the total number of mercenaries contracted by the State Dept.  In Oct of this year, the Washington Post pointed out that the State Dept will be expanding its contractor forces to around 16,000 to be deployed in Iraq alone after US military troops are removed from that country.  Currently, the US military uses 50,000 defense contractors (mercenaries) in Iraq.  One could speculate that some of this number might simply switch from military to State Dept contracts.

Xe Services is the largest of the State Dept’s 3 private security contractors. The primary training facility for Xe, called the “US Training Center”, is housed on 7000 acres in northeast North Carolina. They also opened a new 80-acre facility west of Chicago in ’07 known as “The Site”, which “serves law enforcement agencies throughout the midwest”.  200 Xe mercenaries were used during Hurricane Katrina under a contract with the DHS (Dept of Homeland Security) – “to protect government facilities” – at a cost to taxpayers of $240,000/day.

Because the State Dept will not answer questions about Christopher Deedy, we do not know if he is one of the “special agents” supplied by contract with Xe or any other contractor mercenary group.

A basic summary of the murder is offered from the Telegraph, 8 Nov.:

Christopher Deedy was tasked with “supporting protection of dignitaries” for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit which will be attended by President Barack Obama and a host of other leaders later this week.
Deedy, 27, is accused of fatally shooting Kollin Elderts, 23, who he did not know, at 3am in the tourist district of Waikiki. He has been charged with second degree murder and released on $250,000 bail. He was off duty at the time of the alleged shooting.
Michael Green, a lawyer for the victim’s family, said it followed an altercation in a Waikiki club. Later, at the McDonald’s, Mr Elderts was said to have told Deedy he looked “pretty serious” and jokingly asked him, “Hey, are you going to shoot me or something?” According to Mr Green the federal agent replied “How would you like to get shot tonight?” then pulled out a gun, knocked Mr Elderts to the floor and fired three times. The sequence of events was captured on security cameras, he said.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed Deedy had been in Honolulu to beef up security ahead of the APEC conference, and has now been put on paid administrative leave…

http://tinyurl.com/8ysfdkb

The 17 Nov. Washington Post claims that Deedy was “protecting himself and others” from someone who was “aggressing” on him.  “The federal agent charged with killing a man in a McDonald’s restaurant in Hawaii was protecting himself and others, his attorney said Thursday…
“He didn’t provide details but said Deedy was protecting himself and others from a man ‘who aggressed on him.’…”

Later, the WaPo adds, “They exchanged words, Green [att’y for Elderts family] said. At one point, the agent asked, ‘Do you want to get shot?’ Deedy then ‘karate-kicked’ Elderts in the chest, knocking him down, Green said. Elderts got up and ‘smacked the guy.’ The two began struggling with each other when Deedy fired three shots, Green said, adding Elderts was unarmed. Police said a knife was recovered at the scene.” [http://tinyurl.com/c8etogp]

A few new details in this article from kitv, 10 Nov.:

HONOLULU — KITV4 News has uncovered new details about the events that happened before the fatal shooting of a Kailua man early Saturday morning in Waikiki…
There is surveillance video of the incident from inside the Kuhio Avenue McDonald’s in Waikiki, police sources said… Elderts’ family attorney said Deedy was drunk.”What the witnesses say is that at one point, the agent, who apparently appeared very intoxicated, asked my client if he’d like to get shot,” said Michael Green, who’s representing the Elderts family. Deedy refused to take a blood alcohol test, sources said…
Witnesses report seeing Deedy drinking at a bar near the Waikiki McDonald’s before the shooting, where sources said he paid for drinks with his credit card, potentially leaving a paper trail for investigators. The medical examiner’s office says Elderts’ blood alcohol content was 0.12 percent…
Deedy started performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, known as CPR, on Elderts before emergency crews arrived, a source said…
http://tinyurl.com/6vvzuhr

I have a lot of questions about this incident. Who is the State Dept hiring, exactly? Why are they allowed to go out (intoxicated or not) amongst the civilians, carrying weapons, while off duty? Why is Deedy charged with 2nd degree murder rather than 1st? Why is he out on bail; a bail that looks rather low for murder charges? Why is he on administrative leave with pay?  The knife “found at the scene” turned out to be Deedy’s.  He used it to cut open Elderts’ shirt so he could “perform CPR” on Elderts.  Because that is such a peculiar way to perform CPR, I wonder: what was his original intention when he pulled out the knife and cut open Elderts’ shirt?

Peter Van Buren, a former State dept foreign service officer and author of the book, “We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People”, has questions about this incident as well. I will close with his list of questions.

As reported here and everywhere, State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security “Special” Agent Chris Deedy is charged with second degree murder in Honolulu…
There is nothing to indicate that the victim was armed. Deedy asked “Do you want to get shot?,” then kicked the guy in the chest, before cranking off three rounds from his State Department-issued firearm. The bloody knife mentioned in some reports appears to have been Deedy’s. Deedy claims he pulled the knife to cut open the victim’s shirt before performing cardio pulmonary resuscitation on the victim after he was shot.
Special Agent Deedy remains in Hawaii, on “admin leave.” His arraignment is set for November 20.
So a couple of questions for you legally educated folks:
1) When I learned CPR it was not taught that we had to cut open a victim’s shirt. Anything changed with that?
2) Is it normal for a law enforcement guy to fire three shots in a crowded fast food restaurant against an unarmed man, even if that man was a bully, even in “self defense”? Deedy’s lawyer says the killing was self-defense. I thought self defense was supposed to meet some sort of proportional test, otherwise cops would just be free to blow away anyone messing with them.
3) Is it DS’ policy that its officers are allowed to carry their service weapons off hours even when drinking? Asked if Deedy was drinking beforehand, his lawyer said, “We’re investigating to see whether that is so, and if so, if drinking had any impact on Mr. Deedy’s behavior.” The victim’s lawyer said Deedy was drunk. It is usually bad news when your own lawyer won’t say clearly that you weren’t drinking.
4) Can’t the Hawaiian cops get a warrant to force a murder suspect to take an alcohol test? Cops can do this in alleged drunk driving cases. Why wasn’t Deedy tested? Some kind of cop courtesy thing?
5) According to Deedy’s lawyer, “The [State Department] want him to come back to work as soon as he’s able.” Does DS have no other criteria other than a stone-cold felony conviction? Can you kill a man in McDonald’s at 3am and just pop back into Rosslyn HQ a month later, no questions asked? Maybe like about judgement and suitability?
6) Does Deedy still carry a State Department badge, gun and ID card while on admin leave awaiting arraignment for murder? In some cases (er, mine), admin leave is accompanied by State physically taking away my ID card and barring me in writing from entering any State Department facility. For the record, I did not kill anyone, just wrote a book. Does DS apply the rules evenly, even with its own special agents?
http://tinyurl.com/73t3h8t