The three passengers riding with Robert “LaVoy” Finicum shortly before he was killed by FBI agents two years ago are suing the agency and others over his death, The Oregonian reports.
Ryan Payne, who took part in the Oregon standoff at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge but was not present at Finicum’s death, also joins the lawsuit filed last week on the side of the truck’s passengers.
Running from Oregon State Police, Finicum crashed his truck into a snowbank to avoid an FBI roadblock. Ryan Bundy, Shawna Cox and Victoria Sharp huddled in the backseat of a truck while Finicum jumped out and began walking away from the truck. FBI agents shot him while he reached inside his jacket where he had a loaded 9mm pistol, investigators said.
Lavoy’s widow, Jeanette Finicum, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the FBI, Bureau of Land Management and others last week, the same day as the truck passengers.
“I hope that there is accountability and justice for my husband,” Jeanette told The Daily Caller News Foundation at the time. “If LaVoy hadn’t been murdered that day, he would’ve been afforded due process, his day in court and he would be a free man right now. And he would be home with our family.”
Bundy, Cox, Payne and Sharp’s lawsuit asks for a “common law jury” to oversee the case and decide damages. The plaintiffs are pursuing $1 million per count. The plaintiffs seem to list nine counts, though it may only be six as the last three are noted by question marks, according to The Oregonian.
The lawsuit’s charges range from negligent hiring to conspiracy and excessive force.
Cox, Bundy and Payne were charged with crimes related to the takeover of Malheur in 2016. Cox and Bundy were acquitted, while Payne plead guilty to federal conspiracy. He is scheduled for sentencing Feb. 27. Sharp was not arrested in connection to Malheur.
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