Judge: Question of whether FBI shot at Branch Davidians remains open

The Branch Davidian compound ablaze on April 19, 1993

April 24, 2000
Web posted at: 10:46 PM EDT (0246 GMT)

WACO, Texas -- A federal judge in Waco, Texas, said Monday the question of whether FBI agents shot at members of the Branch Davidians on the final day of the 1993 siege remains unanswered, despite a finding by independent experts that no shots were fired.

Judge Walter Smith said he will wait to hear all the evidence and other expert testimony before determining if the agents shot at the Davidians April 19, 1993, the day David Koresh and about 80 followers died in a fire at the facility they called Mount Carmel.

Smith said a preliminary report by Vector Data Systems, the company that oversaw last month's simulation of gunfire outside the Davidian compound, showed no indication of the flashes seen on the FBI's infrared video of the final hours of the siege.

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Attorneys for the Davidians have said the flashes represent gunshots fired by federal agents.

The company detected 56 "thermal events" or flashes on the 1993 tape. After comparing those flashes with flashes from the simulation, the company determined they were caused by reflections off debris and not gunfire.

James Brannon, an attorney representing families of Davidians who died during the siege, discounted the findings and called the people who compiled them "very poor experts."

Smith said he did not consider the findings "conclusive evidence" and will consider testimony from other experts during this summer's wrongful-death trial being brought against the government.

Mike Caddell, the lead attorney for Davidian families suing the government, still contends federal agents shot at the Davidians April 19, 1993. Weather conditions on the day of the simulation, which took place at Fort Hood, were different than those at Mt. Carmel on the day of the fire seven years ago. Those differences may explain Vector Data System's findings, he said.

U.S. Attorney Mike Bradford said the findings supported the government's contention that government agents fired no shots throughout the siege. He called the findings "a big blow" that "dramatically changes" the Davidians' case against the government.

The gunfire test findings were announced Monday during a court hearing in Waco on whether the government has mishandled or withheld evidence in the wrongful-death case.

Attorney Caddell has accused the government of "a pattern of gamesmanship, delay and failure to respond in good faith," in the handling of evidence.

Audio appears to have been erased from the FBI's infrared videotapes, photographs taken April 19 when tear gas was fired into Mt.. Carmel are missing, and documents are being withheld, he said.

Judge Smith did not rule on Caddell's request that the government be fined or sanctioned for its handling of the evidence.

The judge did issue two rulings Monday. He turned down a request by the Davidians' attorney to include the two on-site FBI commanders as defendants in the lawsuit.

Judge Smith also turned down a government request to dismiss much of the Davidians' case. That sets the stage for the trial to begin June19.

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Federal Bureau of Investigation
United States Attorney's Office, Central District of California
Branch Davidian

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