-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 0
/
index.html
653 lines (601 loc) · 61.8 KB
/
index.html
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Brian Babb's final hour | News | The Register-Guard | Eugene, Ore.</title>
<link rel="canonical" href="http://cloud.registerguard.com/brian-babbs-final-hour/" />
<meta property="og:url" content="http://cloud.registerguard.com/brian-babbs-final-hour/" />
<meta name="description" content="Deconstructing the Eugene police response that ended in the death of Brian Babb, a wounded veteran who suffered from PTSD">
<meta property="og:description" content="Deconstructing the Eugene police response that ended in the death of Brian Babb, a wounded veteran who suffered from PTSD">
<meta name="keywords" content="brian, babb, army, ptsd, veteran, eugene, police, shooting, register, guard">
<meta property="og:site_name" content="The Register-Guard">
<meta property="og:type" content="article">
<link rel="image_src" href="http://cloud.registerguard.com/brian-babbs-final-hour/media/a1.babb_01c.0809.jpg">
<meta property="og:image" content="http://cloud.registerguard.com/brian-babbs-final-hour/media/a1.babb_01c.0809.jpg">
<meta property="og:title" content="Brian Babb's final hour">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://yui.yahooapis.com/pure/0.5.0/pure-min.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://yui.yahooapis.com/pure/0.5.0/grids-responsive-min.css">
<!-- [BEGIN] Zeppelin -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://zeppelin.registerguard.com/prod/0.1.0/20140911/1/styles/zeppelin.min.css">
<script src="http://zeppelin.registerguard.com/prod/0.1.0/20140911/1/scripts/zeppelin.min.js"></script>
<!-- [END] Zeppelin -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="bat_styles.css">
<meta name="verify-v1" content="FPxMUeDPHJaIRBh+RAEc0QZisGX9WHLZuqlbleiLe3c=">
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="-b9kSGtOMT3DZyn5y1faDWWBN74GtyBDZlCDJuf39Yc">
<meta name="msvalidate.01" content="608AEB9B4D0BDA128921F2615DCC1FCE">
<!-- [BEGIN] Chartbeat -->
<script type='text/javascript'>var _sf_startpt=(new Date()).getTime()</script>
<!-- [END] Chartbeat -->
</head>
<body>
<!-- [BEGIN] head -->
<header id="zeppelin" role="banner">
<h6><a href="http://registerguard.com">The Register-Guard</a></h6>
<p>Brian Babb's final hour</p>
</header>
<!-- [END] head -->
<!-- top image -->
<div class="bat_paratop">
<figure style="position: relative;">
<div class="bat_head" >
<h1 style='text-transform:none;'>Brian Babb’s final hour</h1>
</div><!-- /.bat_head-->
<img src="media/a1.babb_01c.0809.jpg" width="100%">
</figure>
<figcaption>Eugene police officer Will Stutesman fatally shot Brian Babb after the officer reported Babb had pointed a high-powered, scoped hunting rifle at him on March 30. (Lane County Interagency Deadly Force Investigation Team)</figcaption>
</div><!-- /.bat_paratop -->
<!-- wrapper -->
<div class="bat_wrap bat_module content">
<!-- <figure style="position: relative;">
<img src="media/babb-top.jpg" width="100%">
<figcaption>Brian Babb's body lays next to the unloaded rifle he allegedly pointed at police before being shot and killed by an officer. (IDFIT)</figcaption>
</figure> -->
<h1 style="font-size: 3em;">Deconstructing the Eugene police response that ended in the death of a wounded veteran with PTSD</h1>
<!-- [BEGIN] byline -->
<div class="pure-g bat_bydate">
<div class="pure-u-1 pure-u-md-3-4 bat_byline">
By <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Christian Hill</a><span class="bat_break"> | </span>The Register-Guard
</div><!-- /.pure-u-1 /.pure-u-md-1-2 /.bat_byline -->
<div class="pure-u-1 pure-u-md-1-4 bat_date">
August 9, 2015
</div><!-- /.pure-u-1 /.pur-u-md-1-2 /.bat_date -->
</div><!-- /.pure-g /.bat_bydate -->
<!-- [END] byline -->
<!-- [BEGIN] Addthis social buttons -->
<div class="addthis_sharing_toolbox"></div>
<!-- [END] Addthis social buttons -->
<div class="bat_story">
<p class="bat_dropcap">Alone and despairing in his second-floor bedroom littered with empty beer cans and filled prescription bottles, Brian Babb dialed his phone for the last time.</p>
<p>Babb had struggled with a traumatic brain injury and severe post-traumatic stress disorder for years, his family and therapist said.</p>
<p>Family members say Babb, a former captain in the Oregon Army National Guard, was injured during a combat deployment to Afghanistan he volunteered for in 2006.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<!-- <div class="bat_media" style="width: auto;"> -->
<!-- <div style="max-width: 200px;margin: 0 auto;"> -->
<figure>
<img src="media/babb.military.jpg" alt="Babb portrait" style="width:100%">
<figcaption>Brian Babb, former Oregon Army National Guard captain. (Facebook)</figcaption>
</figure>
<!-- </div> -->
<!-- </div> --><!-- /.bat_media -->
<div class="bat_story">
<p>Now Babb, 49, who years earlier wrote he suffered from chronic pain, memory loss and incapacitating mood swings, looked over the precipice on the afternoon of March 30 and dialed his therapist, Becky Higgins.</p>
<p>Babb told Higgins he had fired a 9mm handgun in his west Eugene home to “see how it sounded.”</p>
<p>Higgins quickly realized Babb needed more help than she alone could provide, so she called 911.</p>
<p>Exactly an hour later, medics declared Babb dead at the scene. Minutes earlier, Eugene police officer Will Stutesman fatally shot him after the officer reported Babb had pointed a high-powered, scoped hunting rifle at him. The rifle was unloaded.</p>
<p>Higgins, Babb’s family and residents have questioned why police officers seated in an armored vehicle parked near Babb’s home interrupted Higgins’ efforts to calm Babb over the phone.</p>
<p>The speed and militarized nature of the police response, they said, unravelled the progress Higgins asserted she was making to calm Babb, a divorced father of two children, and prompted an angry tirade that ended with the fatal shooting.</p>
<p>“They responded with an excessive, overwhelming amount of force to a guy who was having a bad day,” Ronda McGowan, Babb’s sister, said at a press conference in early May.</p>
<p>In the wake of the tragedy, <a href="http://projects.registerguard.com/rg/news/local/33049629-75/veterans-family-pledges-to-push-for-changes.html.csp">family members have called for a standard protocol</a> for how police departments across the nation respond to veterans in crisis.</p>
<p>Alex Gardner, Lane County district attorney at the time of the killing, <a href="http://projects.registerguard.com/rg/news/local/33043585-75/story.csp">ruled Stutesman was justified in shooting</a>.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<figure>
<img src="media/web.02_shooting.0809.jpg" alt="Officer Stutesman" style="width:100%;">
<!-- <img src="media/stutesman-mug.jpg" alt="Officer Stutesman" style="width:100%;"> -->
<figcaption>Officer Will Stutesman after the incident. (IDFIT)</figcaption>
</figure>
<div class="bat_story">
<p>The police department is in the midst of an internal investigation to determine whether Stutesman followed department policies and procedures in using deadly force.</p>
<p>Police Chief Pete Kerns <a href="http://projects.registerguard.com/rg/opinion/33043181-78/well-do-all-we-can-to-avoid-another-vet-tragedy.html.csp">wrote that the department will conduct a broader inquiry</a> into the police response and “will examine every detail from the moment we first received the call to the conclusion.” The department has declined further comment while that investigation is pending.</p>
<p>The review board is scheduled to meet Monday. It’s unknown when the department will announce its findings.</p>
<p>On Friday, <a href="http://projects.registerguard.com/rg/news/local/33377700-75/eugene-police-announce-steps-to-improve-response-in-mental-health-crises.html.csp">Kerns announced a series of directives</a> intended to avert another tragedy by improving the police response to veterans and others in crisis.</p>
<p>Kerns said the shooting was “a very sad situation for our community, particularly for our department where we have so many veterans ... and extraordinarily difficult for the Babb family.”</p>
<p>Higgins earlier said she’s disappointed the city and police department haven’t done more to reassure veterans. She said she’s had to make complicated arrangements with veterans she’s counseling because she’s agreed to not call 911 if they are in crisis.</p>
<p>“It was just absolutely shocking to me that they went to that extreme,” she said. “I couldn’t even fathom it, and it made me really wonder what had they heard, what did I say, how did it happen? How did it go from there to there? It was very confusing to me.”</p>
<p>The Register-Guard has drawn on extensive public records, including some previously undisclosed, as well as numerous interviews, to reconstruct that final hour.</p>
<p>Its review details how the crisis accelerated amid uncertainty, misunderstanding and poor communication, as those involved struggled to converse with each other and with Babb, seeking to answer the key question: How much of a danger did Babb present, either to himself or others?</p>
<p>The newspaper’s review found:</p>
<ul>
<li>A dispatcher initially radioed police officers that Babb had shot the handgun “into a window” even though Higgins reported he’d shot into the ceiling or a wall. A sergeant said the gunshot combined with uncertainty about the whereabouts of Babb’s roommate “changed the tenor” of the response.</li>
<li>On two separate occasions during the initial response, another sergeant asked the dispatcher to direct Higgins to ask Babb to step out of the house unarmed. Higgins said she never received the requests.</li>
<li>A crisis negotiator was instructed to begin hailing Babb over a loudspeaker to come out of the home unarmed despite the sergeant knowing Higgins was still on the line with Babb but unable to get in communication with her through dispatch.</li>
<li>The two sergeants mulled leaving the scene after Babb’s roommate exited the house after the hailing started, but they hadn’t made a decision before the fatal shooting</li>
<li>The armored vehicle’s driver said he saw Babb raise the rifle before Stutesman fired — collaborating Stutesman’s account — but the crisis negotiator seated next to him said a fence obstructed his view of Babb. Video from the armored vehicle shows the fence blocking any view of Babb during those crucial seconds. Gardner said there’s no question Babb had a rifle and that perhaps the crisis negotiator missed what the driver saw because he was turned or looking elsewhere or in a bad position when Babb came to the door.</li>
</ul>
<h3>“A game changer”</h3>
<p>Higgins doesn’t work on Mondays, but she made a brief stop into her office that day. She heard Babb’s voice on the answering machine and picked up the phone.</p>
<p>Higgins soon realized she needed help. She called 911 at 5:02 p.m. on her cellphone as she kept Babb on her office line.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<!-- <div class="bat_media" style="width: auto;"> -->
<!-- <div style="max-width: 200px;margin: 0 auto;"> -->
<figure>
<img src="media/a1.higginsAN03.adv.jpg" alt="Higgins portrait" style="width:100%;">
<figcaption>Becky Higgins, Babb's therapist. (Andy Nelson/The Register-Guard)</figcaption>
</figure>
<!-- </div> -->
<!-- </div> --><!-- /.bat_media -->
<div class="bat_story">
<p>State law does not explicitly require therapists to report clients if they threaten harm to themselves, said Randy Harnisch, executive director of the profession’s state licensing board. But therapists can be investigated and face sanctions for unprofessional conduct if they fail to do so.</p>
<p>Higgins reported to a 911 call taker that Babb “has a 9mm gun, just shot once through the ceiling I think he said, and obviously he’s having a really hard time and he’s been drinking.” She reported her client had severe PTSD and a traumatic brain injury.</p>
<p>Higgins also told the call taker Babb was alone in the house on the 2200 block of Devos Street, but she clarified that he had a male roommate.</p>
<p>The call taker then asked, “Did he say if he hurt himself or he just shot it through the window?”</p>
<p>Higgins, who didn’t hear the gunshot, clarified that she believed “he shot into the ceiling or the wall.”</p>
<p>The call taker entered the information into the computer-aided dispatch log. The call taker initially wrote that a therapist had called 911 and remained on the line with Babb. Babb, it read, “HAS A 9MM TO HIS HEAD & HAS ALREADY SHOT 1 BULLET INTO A WINDOW OR SOMEWHERE INTO THE HOUSE.”</p>
<p>A separate 911 dispatcher then radioed to officers that Babb “has already shot one bullet into a window or somewhere in the house.”</p>
<p>The call taker entered another computer-based message 30 seconds later correcting that Babb had shot into the ceiling, but the correction never went over the radio to responding officers, according to a review of the radio traffic from the call.</p>
<p>Both the dispatcher and call log notified officers that Babb’s roommate may be in the house. Arriving officers found two white pickups parked in the driveway.</p>
<p>Higgins said that by telling the call taker that Babb had mental disorders she wanted to convey to police they should “go easy, just be gentle” with Babb. She also never reported that Babb had a gun to his head. Higgins said she remained on the line, and the call taker instructed her to place her cellphone close to her office phone so she could listen in on the exchanges between Higgins and Babb.</p>
<p>“I think now what they heard from that was very different like, armor up, you know, be prepared, and that was the exact opposite of what I was saying,” she said.</p>
<p>The two sergeants on the scene, Malcolm McAlpine, the on-scene commander, and Scott Vinje, realized this call was different from the ones they typically receive for suicidal subjects based on the initial information they heard.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<div class="bat_quote">
<h4>“Even though he’s just suicidal in the house, I was worried, well, he’s got someone in there, and I don’t know how that person is. The other deal was that he had shot a round and at that point I wasn’t sure if he had shot it out the window, if he shot it at a door so then he’s gone above and beyond just hurting himself where he’s putting kind of the community as a whole in danger.”</h4>
<p>- Sgt. Malcolm McAlpine said to an investigator</p>
</div>
<div class="bat_story">
<!-- <p>“Even though he’s just suicidal in the house, I was worried, well, he’s got someone in there, and I don’t know how that person is,” McAlpine said to an investigator. “The other deal was that he had shot a round and at that point I wasn’t sure if he had shot it out the window, if he shot it at a door so then he’s gone above and beyond just hurting himself where he’s putting kind of the community as a whole in danger.”</p> -->
<p>McAlpine said his supervisor “wanted me to really find out if the shot inside was credible because that to us is a game changer. If he’s shooting outside, we obviously want to keep the public (safe).”</p>
<p>Vinje said both factors “changed the tenor” of the response.</p>
<p>It is illegal within the Eugene city limits to discharge a weapon “at or in the direction of any person, building, structure or vehicle within the range of the weapon.”</p>
<p>“It’s a lower-level crime, but it is a crime,” Vinje said, adding he had concern about a bullet going through a wall into a neighbor’s home.</p>
<p>Higgins said she was surprised to learn from a reporter that police were told Babb may have shot out of a window.</p>
<p>The first three officers, including Stutesman and officer Joe Kidd, arrived at the gray-colored two-story home at 5:13 p.m. More officers would arrive, with some of them establishing a perimeter around the home.</p>
<p>A 6-foot-tall fence running along the north side of the long driveway to the home obstructed the view of the front door. Kidd climbed onto the roof of the neighboring house to the south to get a better view.</p>
<p>Officers deemed an approach to the home unsafe, aware that Babb could shoot at them from an upstairs window.</p>
<p>“Is anyone getting the BearCat?” an officer asked McAlpine, referring to the department’s armored response and rescue vehicle. “The approach from the front is difficult, and it’s a two-story house. The windows upstairs are open and they can look out on the street and driveway.”</p>
<p>Another officer agreed: “A deep panhandle lot. It would be nice to come up on armor.”</p>
<p>The BearCat was en route at 5:20 p.m., with officer Nate Pieske at the wheel, shortly after McAlpine arrived on scene.</p>
<h3>“He’s going to freak”</h3>
<p>Back in her office, Higgins was struggling to calm Babb, who was unaware that Higgins had called police.</p>
<p>Her first call to 911 had dropped after about 20 minutes and she called back frantically, as the BearCat was en route to Babb’s home.</p>
<p>She told the second call taker that she’s “going to need somebody to get to his house” and that she needed to resume her conversation with Babb. The call taker reassured her that “we have lots of people going out there right now.”</p>
<p>Higgins responded: “He’s going to freak. He’s got a round in the chamber. He won’t take it out. He’s not saying, ‘I’m going to shoot it right now,’ but he’s refusing to take it out and he’s telling me he wants to go back to combat, which is ‘I’m going to go back. I’m going to die right now so I can get back there.’ ”</p>
<p>She returned to Babb on her office phone, suggesting the call taker listen in through the open line on her cellphone. The call taker had trouble hearing their exchanges.</p>
<p>Three minutes later, McAlpine learned from dispatch that Higgins was still on the line with Babb.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<div class="bat_media">
<figure>
<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/218276202&color=373737&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false"></iframe>
<figcaption>Investigation interview with Sgt. Malcolm McAlpine regarding his request to have Babb come out unarmed. (IDFIT)</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="bat_story">
<p>McAlpine: “OK, if she has an open line and thinks that she might have rapport with him, if she could ask him to step outside with nothing in his hands that would be fantastic.”</p>
<p>Dispatcher: “Copy. She’s just advising that he says he has a round loaded in the chamber and that it’s ready to go.”</p>
<p>McAlpine: “Copy. Can she also find out where in the house? We’d like him to come out the front door and we’ll address him there. Can I also have the phone number in case that doesn’t work?”</p>
<p>The dispatcher provided McAlpine both Babb’s and Higgins’ phone numbers.</p>
<p>McAlpine then asked to verify Babb’s first name and “the status of our request to the counselor please.”</p>
<p>Dispatcher: “She’s currently talking to the subject. She’s not returned to the phone with the call taker so we can make that request.”</p>
<p>Right before the BearCat arrived, McAlpine asked a second time — about eight minutes after his first request — about the status of the request.</p>
<p>McAlpine: “Are we still not in contact with the counselor?”</p>
<p>Dispatcher: “We still have an open line. She’s still talking to the subject.”</p>
<p>McAlpine: “OK. Once she comes back to her (apparently referring to the call taker), we’ll start making our own calls.”</p>
<p>It appears the sergeant assumed Higgins had received his request that Babb step out of the house unarmed.</p>
<p>“Then there was a lag because she got off the phone with dispatch, obviously talking to him (Babb), asking for this request,” he later told an investigator. “Then nothing was really happening for a few minutes, and we couldn’t get ahold of her.”</p>
<p>Higgins said the requests were never forwarded to her, and she was shocked to learn about them from a reporter.</p>
<p>“That would really be tragic,” she said.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<div class="bat_media">
<figure>
<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 990px;"><div style="display: block; padding-top: 56.2626262626263%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/LgtoeG1Wjw8" allowfullscreen="" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px; border: none;"></iframe></div></div>
<figcaption>Higgins was asked about the on-scene commander's request to have Babb exit the house unarmed, a request that she never received. (Andy Nelson/The Register-Guard)</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="bat_story">
<p>At Lane County 911, the call takers who talk to the people who dial emergency are separate from the dispatchers who are in communication with responding police officers and medics.</p>
<p>Both call takers and dispatchers enter notes about a call into a computer-aided dispatch system log. Police officers can review those notes on computers in their vehicles, but the system is inaccessible once they step out of their vehicles. Police officers can communicate with dispatchers on the radio when they’re in their car or on foot.</p>
<p>Koren Evans, a Central Lane 911 supervisor, said the division of labor is typical at larger 911 dispatch centers because the sheer volume of calls would overwhelm dispatchers tasked with both jobs.</p>
<p>Evans declined to talk specifically about the center’s handling of Higgins’ call because of the pending internal review. But Evans said she’s not concerned about lapses in communication between the call taker and dispatcher because, for Eugene calls at least, they share the same room.</p>
<p>“As a dispatcher, if I had a question, I would say, ‘Hey, Tony, I need this information and, vice versa, if they have something critical they’ll say, ‘Hey, Station 1, the guy’s got this or whatever so we still have verbal communication because we’re close enough to do that, but it’s still logged in the (computer-aided dispatch) call.”</p>
<p>What’s unclear is what conversations, if any, the dispatcher who received McAlpine’s requests had with the call taker on the line with Higgins and why the sergeant’s request that Babb walk out of his home unarmed wasn’t apparently forwarded. The call log noted McAlpine’s request for Babb to “COME TO THE FRONT DOOR WITH NOTHING IN HIS HANDS” at 5:25 p.m.</p>
<p>Higgins was talking to Babb for most of the time she was on the phone with 911, but the therapist said she could hear the call taker over her open line, and assumed the call taker could hear her.</p>
<p>Geoff Millard, an Iraq War vet and policy associate for San Francisco-based Swords to Plowshares, said the requests that weren’t forwarded illustrate a breakdown.</p>
<p>“Not in the individuals, but in the system that there wasn’t a smooth handoff between the (therapist) on the phone, the 911 operator and the crisis negotiator who was on scene with the (loudspeaker). The system needs some way where those three individuals can act as one.”</p>
<p>The nonprofit advocacy group provides training to police officers on responding to veterans in crisis.</p>
<h3>“Terrible” tactical situation</h3>
<p>The BearCat arrived at 5:34 p.m. and within three minutes was positioned on a neighbor’s driveway about 100 feet from Babb’s front door.</p>
<p>The panhandle lot “was terrible” from a tactical standpoint, McAlpine said, and he parked the armored vehicle where he did for the protection and elevation to see the front door over the fence.</p>
<p>Pieske remained in the driver’s seat, joined by officer Matthew Grose, the crisis negotiator, who seated himself in the front passenger seat. McAlpine and Vinje, who had just arrived, were standing at the rear of the vehicle.</p>
<p>Stutesman stood out of the vehicle’s roof hatch and could see the top half of the front door from his elevated position. He rotated the armored lid of the roof hatch so it offered him ballistic protection. He then trained his assault rifle equipped with a red-dot optical sight on the house.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<hr>
<figure>
<div style="margin: 0 auto;max-width: 800px;width:100%;">
<img src="media/babb-map-UPDATED.jpg" alt="Map" style="max-width: 800px;width:100%;">
<figcaption style="text-align:right;">(Tom Penix/The Register-Guard)</figcaption>
</div>
</figure>
<hr>
<div class="bat_story">
<p>About a minute before Grose began hailing Babb over the vehicle’s loudspeaker, the call taker on the line with Higgins noted she overheard the therapist ask Babb if he had taken the clip out of the gun. The call taker was unable to make out his response, although Higgins said in an interview she had repeated aloud what Babb was telling her so the call taker could hear.</p>
<p>Higgins later told the call taker Babb had “swore to her” that he had taken the bullet out of the chamber “but then he reminded me how fast he could reload.”</p>
<p>Higgins, in a lengthy <a href="http://projects.registerguard.com/rg/opinion/33028739-78/killing-of-suicidal-veteran-likely-avoidable.html.csp">column</a> The Register-Guard published a month after the shooting, asserted that Babb at this point was calming down.</p>
<p>Higgins wrote that Babb had agreed to come in for an appointment the next morning, which she absently noted in her appointment book as she was so focused on the conversation.</p>
<p>Asked why officers began hailing Babb while Higgins was still talking to him, Dusty Sprague, an Oregon State Police detective who led the criminal investigation of the shooting, later said “that if the therapist believed the situation was de-escalating that was not relayed to 911 dispatch.”</p>
<p>The Eugene Police Department has publicly released a redacted version of Higgins’ 911 call, but it has not released the unredacted version, arguing that it represented an unreasonable invasion of privacy and that the privileged information Higgins received as Babb’s therapist can be withheld under Oregon public records law.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<div class="bat_media">
<figure>
<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/203520554&color=373737&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false"></iframe>
<figcaption>Redacted 911 call with Higgins. (IDFIT)</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="bat_story">
<p>Higgins maintained in her interview that Babb was calming down, and the progress started when she got him to talk about what he’d tell soldiers under his supervision if they were going through a similar crisis.</p>
<p>“From there, I was saying to him, you know, I remember a time when you were feeling better, and you can get back there.”</p>
<h3>“I just can’t have him die”</h3>
<p>Grose began hailing Babb over the loudspeaker about 5:40 p.m., three minutes after officers had positioned the armored vehicle.</p>
<p>“Brian, this is the Eugene Police Department,” he said at one point. “We’re outside of your home, and we don’t want you to get hurt today. Come outside with your hands empty and in the air so we can help you out today.”</p>
<p>The hailing, which an investigator said was done seven times, drew a swift and angry response from Babb.</p>
<p>Higgins recalled him saying, “No, this is not happening to me” before he put his cellphone down.</p>
<p>The call taker on the line with Higgins overheard her explaining she “called 911 because she was concerned. ... She is saying that she needed to have someone do a welfare check on him.”</p>
<p>An officer radioed that Babb opened the front door, challenged officers “not to [expletive] with him” and slammed the door shut.</p>
<p>Silouan Greena — a lecturer on post-traumatic stress syndrome for the Public Agency Training Council, a privately owned law enforcement training company — said it’s vital in a crisis to have someone who can calm a veteran and figure out what is triggering the intense reaction.</p>
<p>“Once you found that person lean on them, because the battle you’re facing when you’re dealing with a vet is to keep the situation de-escalated, keep them oriented, communicate well with them, don’t surprise them, don’t make them feel off-guard,” he said. “Because what you want to avoid doing is something that’s going to trigger a response that if they have very severe PTSD all of the sudden they can go from everything’s fine to — boom — they’re in combat mode.”</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<div class="bat_media">
<div class="bat_info">
<h3>Resources for veterans</h3>
<p>Veterans in crisis or their families and friends are urged to call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1, text 838255 or visit <a href="http://www.veteranscrisisline.net">veteranscrisisline.net</a> to start a confidential chat.</p>
<p>You should seek immediate attention if you are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Thinking about hurting or killing yourself.</li>
<li>Looking for ways to kill yourself.</li>
<li>Talking about death, dying and suicide.</li>
<li>Engaging in self-destructive behavior such as drug abuse.</li>
</ul>
<p>Two federal agencies and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline started the Veterans Crisis Line in 2007. Since its launch, it has answered more than 1.6 million calls and made more than 45,000 lifesaving rescues.</p>
<hr>
<p>An additional resource for veterans is the <a href="http://www.va.gov/directory/guide/facility.asp?ID=597" target="_blank">Eugene Vet Center</a>.</p>
<p>They specialize in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder from either combat trauma or military sexual trauma. They can help all veterans in a crisis on an emergency basis and help find resources if the veteran does not fit into the two categories mentioned above.</p>
<p>Its number is 541-465-6918 or 877-927-8387.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="bat_story">
<p>Higgins said she doesn’t know if Babb had a flashback, but “you’re certainly inviting one if you drive an (armored personnel carrier) up to a veteran’s house.”</p>
<p>In a flashback, a symptom of PTSD, a person re-experiences powerful memories of past trauma.</p>
<p>“Any veteran in that situation could have lost track of where they were and what was going on and feel like the enemy was outside coming for them and really lose their bearings,” she said.</p>
<p>The hailing woke Jim Antonini, Babb’s roommate and lifelong friend, who had returned home from his job about an hour before Babb called Higgins.</p>
<p>Antonini hadn’t seen Babb, assuming he was in his room, before he went into his own room and dozed off.</p>
<p>Antonini, who said he never heard a gunshot, was now bombarded with instructions from the loudspeaker outside and a stream of obscenities Babb was yelling downstairs.</p>
<p>Antonini found Babb spinning the dial on the gun safe, which investigators later found contained numerous rifles, in the living room.</p>
<p>Antonini tried to calm his friend, but Babb, still focused on the dial, was having none of it. He said Babb finally looked him in the eye: “Get them off my property. This is [expletive].” Antonini had never seen Babb so angry and told an investigator that Babb “seemed determined to shoot himself or make the police shoot him.”</p>
<p>Antonini had time to try to diffuse the situation. Babb’s memory was so bad that when he went hunting with Antonini, “It sometimes takes Babb 60 tries to get the safe open,” his roommate said.</p>
<p>Antonini came to the front door, leaving the door open as he complied with an officer’s instructions and began walking down the driveway. He planned to explain to the police what was going on.</p>
<p>When Babb gets really angry, Antonini said, “He’s not mad at you or me; he’s angry in his head.”</p>
<p>As Antonini walked to the BearCat, Higgins returned to her cellphone to ask the call taker what was going on, because Babb was no longer responding to her.</p>
<p>The call taker told her that officers were in the area and asked Higgins what room Babb was in, forwarding one of the requests from without mentioning that the sergeant almost 20 minutes earlier also had requested that Higgins ask Babb to come out of the house unarmed.</p>
<p>Higgins — who had heard Babb yelling, “You’re not going to do this to me” in the background — called out over the open line.</p>
<p>“Brian. Brian. Hello. Brian.”</p>
<p>No answer.</p>
<p>The call taker added that she might ask Higgins to end her call with Babb because a crisis negotiator was on scene.</p>
<p>Higgins was troubled.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<div class="bat_quote">
<h4>“I could go there. I could do anything. I just can’t have him die.”</h4>
<p>- Becky Higgins pleaded with the 911 call taker, breaking down</p>
</div>
<div class="bat_story">
<!-- <p>“I could go there. I could do anything. I just can’t have him die,” she pleaded, breaking down.</p> -->
<p>The call taker comforted her, telling Higgins she was doing a great job. She told Higgins to stay put because she had “the best rapport with him at this time” and that the call taker would let Higgins know if she needed to disconnect.</p>
<p>Higgins returned to calling out Babb’s name in a futile effort to get him back to his phone.</p>
<p>About the officer’s hailing from the loudspeaker, Higgins said, “I thought that was the single most devastating thing that could have happened, that that was what ended everything.”</p>
<h3>“An exit strategy”</h3>
<p>Outside the home, after Babb slammed shut the open door, he appeared in windows on the second floor. Kidd, positioned on the a neighboring roof, radioed that Babb shouted that “he was not a criminal and he’s not coming out.”</p>
<p>Inside the BearCat, Antonini told McAlpine with the officers listening in that Babb had been trying to open his gun safe.</p>
<p>Antonini offered to call Babb in an effort to calm him down “and get him to come outside so they could fix things.”</p>
<p>Stutesman, positioned in the BearCat's roof hatch, recalled overhearing Antonini say Babb owned hunting rifles. He recalled thinking that hunting rifles are generally powerful and accurate.</p>
<p>Stutesman “grew concerned they could be very dangerous at the distance they were at, especially in the hands of somebody with military training or combat experience.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Vinje and McAlpine told investigators that they were considering leaving the scene.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<div class="bat_media">
<figure>
<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/218274532&color=373737&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false"></iframe>
<figcaption>Investigation interview with Sgt. Scott Vinje. (IDFIT)</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="bat_story">
<p>“When Jim came out and got in, I was truly starting to wonder whether or not we were going to end up pulling out of there and being done or not,” Vinje said. “He (Babb) still wasn't cooperative. He was angry so we would have started working on an exit strategy, basically moving out of there.”</p>
<p>McAlpine also was updating the department’s special weapons and tactics team commander, Lt. Eric Klinko, to see if he wanted to come out to the scene and decide whether to activate the unit “only because he (Babb) had shot out.”</p>
<p>Again, Higgins never reported this, and the dispatcher had initially told responding officers that Babb had shot at a window or elsewhere in the house.</p>
<p>McAlpine said Klinko wanted the sergeant to confirm whether the report that Babb had shot out a window was credible. Antonini reported that he hadn’t heard the shot.</p>
<p>(Only after the fatal shooting was McAlpine informed that Babb apparently fired through the floor.)</p>
<p>At 5:47 p.m., Vinje, after learning from the dispatcher that Higgins still had an open line with an unresponsive Babb, requested that she hang up so Grose could reach out to him.</p>
<p>Higgins was resistant when she heard the request, which appeared to be forwarded to her with little delay.</p>
<p>“You did a great job,” the call taker responded. “There’s nothing else sometimes you can do in a situation we have.</p>
<p>“We have a crisis negotiator out there. They’re going to talk to him. They’re going to try to get him out as safely as possible.”</p>
<p>Higgins, crying, shortly before ending the call: “He’d talk to me better than he’d talked to anybody else. I’ve been working with him for, you know, nine months or something.</p>
<p>“We’ve got a good relationship.”</p>
<h3>“Hole in the end of the barrel”</h3>
<p>Inside the BearCat, Grose, sitting in the front passenger seat, reached Babb on his cellphone after several attempts.</p>
<p>Babb told Grose that he had a gun pointed at him, although the crisis negotiator was unsure if he meant himself or Stutesman standing with his head above the roof hatch. Babb ordered officers “not to come into his house or go onto his property, to just leave.”</p>
<p>Grose responded that officers weren’t going anywhere “and that they were seeking a peaceful resolution.”</p>
<p>Babb hung up.</p>
<p>Less than a minute later, Babb opened the front door for the last time.</p>
<p>Stutesman said it took him a few seconds to realize that Babb, standing in the doorway, was pointing a black rifle directly at him. He said he could “see the hole in the end of the barrel.”</p>
<p>Stutesman recalled what he was thinking at that exact moment, recognizing Kidd was potentially exposed on the rooftop of the neighboring home and Stutesman was the only one who could see what Babb was doing.</p>
<p>“He recalls thinking that Brian was going to shoot him and then he would have free rein to shoot the other officers and civilians who did not have the armored cover that he had,” the investigator wrote. “He recalled that Brian was reported to have already shot from inside his residence once that day.
<p>“Officer Stutesman told me he felt he had to stop Brian before someone was hurt or killed and he was concerned that he was too late because it took him a few seconds to recognize what he was seeing.”</p>
<!-- <p>At 5:52 p.m., Stutesman placed the red dot of his assault rifle’s optics on Babb’s head and pulled the trigger. The bullet entered Babb’s left cheek and exited the back of his neck.</p>
<p>“My shot went off, and Brian dropped out of sight,” Stutesman told the investigator.</p> -->
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
</div><!-- /.bat_wrap -->
<div style="background: black; color: white;padding: 1em 0;">
<div class="bat_wrap">
<div class="bat_story">
<p>At 5:52 p.m., Stutesman placed the red dot of his assault rifle’s optics on Babb’s head and pulled the trigger. The bullet entered Babb’s left cheek and exited the back of his neck.</p>
<p>“My shot went off, and Brian dropped out of sight,” Stutesman told the investigator.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
</div><!-- /.bat_wrap -->
</div>
<div class="bat_wrap">
<div class="bat_story">
<h3 style="margin-top:1em;">“Who shot?”</h3>
<p>Stutesman yelled “drop it” twice immediately before pulling the trigger. After the gunshot rang out, confused officers tried to figure out where the shot came from.</p>
<p>McAlpine directed the dispatcher to activate SWAT, erroneously thinking Babb had fired on officers. Officers also ran through a radio roll call to verify that no officer had been shot.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<!-- <div class="bat_media"> -->
<figure>
<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 990px;"><div style="display: block; padding-top: 56.2626262626263%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/iTUeGUiqjQg" allowfullscreen="" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px; border: none;"></iframe></div></div>
<figcaption style="margin-top:4px">Video from the BearCat police vehicle, which did not have audio with it, and police radio chatter that The Register-Guard synchronized with the video. Note: The timestamp on the video is not accurate. (IDFIT)</figcaption>
</figure>
<!-- </div> -->
<div class="bat_story">
<p>About 45 seconds after Stutesman fired the shot, someone asked him over the radio if he saw what Babb had in his hands.</p>
<p>Stutesman: “Affirm. It was a long gun. Pointed at me.”</p>
<p>It would be about three more minutes before McAlpine confirmed that he was dealing with an officer-involved shooting.</p>
<p>“We were asking the guys, ‘Who shot? Did the bad guy, did Brian shoot at us or did we shoot at him?’ ” McAlpine said. “(All of us) standing at the back of the BearCat said, ‘It wasn’t us.’ Yelled in. Didn’t hear anything from the guys inside the BearCat.”</p>
<p>Stutesman told an investigator he had a hard time getting the confused officers in the BearCat to understand that he had fired the shot. He finally ducked into the BearCat and yelled that he had fired.</p>
<p>Antonini confirmed Stutesman’s statement.</p>
<p>Questioned about what he saw, Kidd, watching from the rooftop of the neighboring home, radioed about a minute after the gunshot that he saw Babb “was holding something up” but his view was obstructed by a pillar.</p>
<p>Only one other officer, Pieske, said he saw Babb’s final seconds. The driver said that Babb “was armed with a rifle with a bipod and had raised the firearm as he exited.”</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<div style="background:#eee; padding: 1em 3em;line-height: 2em;">
<p><em>Officer Nate Pieske told investigators:</em></p>
<p style="padding:0 1em">“Pieske said that a short time later, the front door opened two times. The first time the man slammed the door so hard he could see the frame and threshold of the door shake. When the door opened the second time, Pieske saw a large white male wearing a gray shirt exit. Pieske said he saw that the man was armed with a rifle with a bipod and had raised the firearm as he exited. Pieske told me Officer Stutesman was still in his position at the turret of the Bearcat and Pieske could hear Officer Stutesman yelling commands at the male. Pieske told me he was concerned that the man intended to shoot the rifle at them. Pieske expressed an added concern that the windshield of the bearcat was not bullet resistant and was worried that he or Officer Gross could be shot in the face. Pieske said he heard Officer Stutesman say something about a gun and then heard a single gunshot.”</p>
</div>
<!-- <figure>
<img src="media/pieske.png" alt="Pieske statement" style="width:100%;border:3px solid #eee">
<figcaption>Pieske statement. (IDFIT)</figcaption>
</figure> -->
<div class="bat_story">
<p>But Grose, sitting directly next to Pieske, told an investigator that he could only see “the top of Babb’s head” as his view was mostly obstructed by the fence and he couldn’t tell if Babb was carrying any weapons.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<div style="background:#eee; padding: 1em 3em;line-height: 2em;">
<p><em>Officer Matthew Grose told investigators: </em></p>
<p style="padding:0 1em">“Officer Grose then said that he could see the top of Babb's head as he walked out onto his front porch. Again, this view was obstructed by the wooden fence and he could not see if Babb had any weapons. Officer Grose tried to get out on the radio to broadcast his observation of Babb coming out, but could not do so due to ongoing radio traffic. Officer Grose then told me that he heard Officer Stutesman saying someone was at the door with a gun, and then something to the effect of "He's pointing a rifle at me". Officer Stutesman was at that time, standing behind Officer Grose with his upper torso and head out of the vehicle area in the roof turret. Officer Grose then heard Officer Stutesman fire a single shot from his rifle, and then he lost sight of the top of Babb's head as he fell down.”</p>
</div>
<!-- <figure>
<img src="media/grose.png" alt="Grose statement" style="width:100%;border: 3px solid #eee;">
<figcaption>Grose statement. (IDFIT)</figcaption>
</figure> -->
<div class="bat_story">
<p>Video from the BearCat obtained by The Register-Guard shows that the 6-foot-tall fence obscured all but the uppermost portion of the front door. The video shows the door opening, but neither Babb nor a weapon can be seen. The video contains no audio.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
</div><!-- /.bat_wrap -->
<figure>
<img src="media/babb-door-02.jpg" alt="Video screengrab of Babb in doorway" style="width:100%;">
<figcaption style="margin:4px 10px;">This still image captured from the BearCat video footage shows the approximate view officers had from the vehicle's front seat as Babb stood in the doorway. (IDFIT)</figcaption>
</figure>
<div class="bat_wrap">
<div class="bat_story">
<p>Oregon State Police Sgt. Andy Kenyon, head of the interagency team that investigated the shooting, told reporters at a May 1 press conference that Stutesman and Pieske, as the collaborating witness, “both gave statements that were consistent with what their observations were.”</p>
<p>Speaking at the same press conference, Gardner <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_FzJe9gumM">announced</a> that the shooting was justified under state law.</p>
<p>Babb’s family has raised concerns about the apparent discrepancy in Pieske’s statement, however.</p>
<p>McGowan, Babb’s sister, questioned how “the driver of the BearCat suddenly had X-ray vision and he could see that rifle through that fence.”</p>
<p>When a reporter raised the issue at the press conference, Gardner responded, “The driver’s position is approximately what you’re seeing through this video,” he said. “I can’t say exactly where his eyes were relative to the in-car video camera, but it’s going to be very close, and he can see a significant portion of that doorway. I don’t know, I guesstimate it at 20 percent, but it looks like maybe 18 inches or 2 feet, something like that.”</p>
<p>Asked again about the discrepancy after The Register-Guard obtained the BearCat video from his office, Gardner responded, “dissection at this level is of ZERO value” because the officers are “not screwed to their seats like inflexible manikins” and it’s impossible to determine their exact position when Babb came to the door.</p>
<p>“Your analysis reads as though you expected the two officers to be bolted in place and staring, non-stop at the front door,” Gardner wrote in a lengthy email to a reporter. “Given their divided responsibilities, the unknown location and movement of the threat, and the activity inside the BearCat, I can’t imagine them NOT moving about and looking around.”</p>
<p>Gardner noted that officers had opportunities to shoot at Babb when he appeared in windows and at the front door before the fatal encounter if that was their intent and that Antonini was able to leave the home unharmed.</p>
<p>“This suggests that nobody wanted to shoot him (Babb) unless he presented an immediate threat to life,” Gardner wrote in the email.</p>
<p>Back on the scene, officers were discussing a safe approach to render aid and secure the home. Stutesman told an investigator he overheard Antonini advise officers to be careful because Babb had military training.</p>
<p>Stutesman “became concerned that Brian might just be playing dead and waiting to ambush officers as they approached.”</p>
<p>Following instructions, Pieske drove the BearCat through two fences, ramming Babb’s pickup, which was parked in the driveway, and up to the front porch.</p>
<p>Grose watched as Stutesman came down from the roof hatch and saw him set his rifle down on one of the seats. Stutesman “appeared to be shaking somewhat and slow in his movements,” Grose recalled.</p>
<p>Babb was found lying just inside the doorway, blood pooling beneath him. The rifle was lying on the porch near Babb’s body. McAlpine checked but couldn’t find a pulse.</p>
<p>Medics were requested to the scene. They declared Babb deceased at 6:02 p.m., exactly an hour after Higgins called 911.</p>
<p>At home later, Higgins said she learned about Babb’s death when she overheard her husband, who was on the computer in another room, say, “Oh, no. No.”</p>
<p>Higgins walked over and found her husband reading an online news story about the fatal shooting.</p>
<p>“I just thought he shot himself,” she said of Babb. “And I asked him (her husband) that question, ‘Is that what happened or something?’ And he said, ‘No, they shot him.’ ”</p>
<h3>The aftermath</h3>
<p>Back on Devos Street, investigators were searching the house and had begun the early stages of the investigation into the officer-involved shooting.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<figure>
<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 990px;"><div style="display: block; padding-top: 56.2626262626263%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/nbnShAG_J54" allowfullscreen="" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px; border: none;"></iframe></div></div>
<!-- <div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 990px;"><div style="display: block; padding-top: 56.2626262626263%;">
<video data-video-id="4408259921001" data-account="4350897271001" data-player="c1a70244-fffa-4eb7-84f9-8698eb031ac0" data-embed="default" class="video-js" controls="" style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;"></video>
</div></div> -->
</figure>
<!-- <div class="mm">
<figure>
<video width="1920" height="1080" loop poster="media/video/web.scene_005.jpg" class="embed" muted loop controls>
<source src="media/video/babb-crime-scene.mp4" type="video/mp4">
<source src="media/video/babb-crime-scene.ogv" type="video/ogg">
<source src="media/video/babb-crime-scene.webm" type='video/webm'>
<img src="media/video/web.scene_005.jpg" width="100%">
Your browser does not support the HTML5 video tag.
</video>
</figure>
</div> -->
<figcaption style="margin-top:4px">
Investigation photos show the BearCat's final position in the front yard, scenes from inside the home (both the night of the incident and the following day) and Stutesman's weapon and vest. Images inside the home include the folded flag, gun safe, medication, Babb's cellphone and rifle bullets, a trigger lock, a 9mm shell casing and a bullet hole in the wall from the round that killed Babb. (IDFIT)
</figcaption>
<div class="bat_story">
<p>Inside the house, they discovered the gun safe open with several rifles inside. Lying on the kitchen table and bar, they found paperwork for his boat, vehicle and mortgage as well as his Social Security card and military identification.</p>
<p>Next to it, was his cellphone and three rounds of rifle ammunition.</p>
<p>Investigators would comb the home for hours, but they’d miss the bullet that killed Babb, which embedded in a back wall of the home.</p>
<p>McGowan, Babb’s sister, found it and called investigators the next morning, and they returned to recover the bullet. The oversight, said Police Auditor Mark Gissiner, who declined to discuss other details of the case, was “inexcusable.”</p>
<p>On a stool next to the kitchen table, was a laptop computer and sitting on it was an American flag folded into a triangle, as flag etiquette dictates. Nearby was a bullet hole in the ceiling.</p>
<p>Scattered around Babb’s upstairs bedroom were empty beer cans and bottles of prescription medicine. A trigger safety lock was lying on the closet floor, the key still in it.</p>
<p>On a low table was the expended shell casing from a 9mm round that had been fired.</p>
<p>Inside Babb’s pickup parked in the driveway investigators found a loaded 9mm handgun — apparently the same weapon that Babb used to shoot inside his house that precipitated the police response.</p>
<p>When he put it there and exactly when he fired the shot inside the house remain unclear.</p>
<p>Sprague, the Oregon State Police detective, later said the handgun “turned out to be irrelevant” because he was “in fact not in possession of that firearm” while on the phone with Higgins.</p>
<p>Higgins suspects Babb — due to his brain injury — may have been confused about the sequence of events leading up to his crisis.</p>
<p>“That’s the ultimate tragedy here,” Higgins said.</p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<figure>
<img src="media/a1.Babbs13-02.0809.jpg" alt="9mm gun" style="width:100%;">
<figcaption>Investigation photo of Babb's 9mm gun, found outside in his truck. (IDFIT)</figcaption>
</figure>
<div class="bat_story">
<h3>Editor's note</h3>
<p>This narrative is based on numerous interviews, documents and other <a href="http://www.eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/View/19406">records</a> both previously released to the public and disclosed in response to a records request by The Register-Guard.</p>
<p>They include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Written statements by investigators of their interviews with involved police officers and Babb’s roommate.</li>
<li>Recorded interviews with the two sergeants on the scene.</li>
<li>Radio traffic between the 911 dispatcher and involved officers.</li>
<li>The redacted 911 call released by the Eugene Police Department involving Higgins and two call takers.</li>
<li>Video and audio captured from camera systems installed inside the BearCat and responding officers’ vehicles.</li>
</ul>
<p>Through a department spokeswoman, the involved officers, the two sergeants and Police Chief Pete Kerns declined interview requests, citing the pending internal review.</p>
<p>While the sergeants’ interviews were recorded, the officers’ interviews were not.</p>
<p>The newspaper interviewed Babb’s therapist, Becky Higgins. Babb’s roommate, Jim Antonini, didn’t return a phone message left on his cellphone seeking additional comment.</p>
<p>The Register-Guard hasn’t been able to independently confirm details of the injuries that family members say Babb sustained during a combat deployment to Afghanistan in 2006. The newspaper submitted a public records request to the Oregon Military Department for his service-related records four months ago that is still under review.</p>
<p>The story has been revised to clarify that Eugene police officers drove the BearCat to the front porch of the home, ramming two fences and hitting a pickup, to secure the home and render aid to Brian Babb after he was shot.</p>
<br>
<p><em>Follow Christian Hill on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/rgchill">@RGchill</a>. Email <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Presentation by <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Rob Denton</a>. Video and audio editing by <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Chris Pietsch</a>.</em></p>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<hr>
<div class="bat_story">
<div id="disqus-comment-section">
<h3>Comments</h3>
<p>The Register-Guard doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. <b><a href="http://help.disqus.com/customer/portal/topics/215154/articles" target="_blank">Not seeing your comment</a></b>? Disqus users, <b><a href="http://help.disqus.com/customer/portal/articles/960202-verifying-your-disqus-account" target="_blank">have you verified your account</a></b>? Please mind our <b><a href="http://projects.registerguard.com/pages/terms-of-use/#rules">rules of conduct</a></b> when commenting.</p>
<div id="disqus_thread"></div>
<script>var disqus_shortname='registerguard',disqus_identifier='rg_babb',disqus_title= "Brian Babb's final hour | Local | The Register-Guard",disqus_url='http://cloud.registerguard.com/brian-babbs-final-hour/';(function(){var dsq=document.createElement('script');dsq.type='text/javascript';dsq.async=true;dsq.src='http://'+disqus_shortname+'.disqus.com/embed.js';(document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0]||document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(dsq);})();</script>
</div>
</div><!-- /.bat_story -->
<hr>
</div><!-- /.bat_wrap -->
<footer>
<div id="bd_press">
<p><span>The Register-Guard <span class="bat_break">•</span></span> <span><a href="http://g.co/maps/h6sgk">3500 Chad Drive</a> • Eugene, OR • 97408 <span class="bat_break">/</span></span> <span>(541) 485-1234 <span>/</span> <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Feedback</a></span></p>
<p><span>Copyright © 1996–2015 <span class="bat_break">/</span></span> <span><a href="http://projects.registerguard.com/pages/terms-of-use/">Terms</a> <span>/</span> <a href="http://projects.registerguard.com/pages/privacy-statement/">Privacy</a> <span>/</span> <a href="http://projects.registerguard.com/pages/copyright/">Copyright</a></span></p>
</div>
</footer>
<!-- zeppelin -->
<script src="http://static.registerguard.com/v5/zeppelin/prod/0.1.0/20140716/1/scripts/zeppelin.min.js"></script>
<!-- [BEGIN] Addthis -->
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/300/addthis_widget.js#pubid=registerguard"></script>
<!-- [END] Addthis -->
<!-- jquery -->
<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<!-- custom goodness -->
<script>
// Make the looping video an image on iOS devices so that the play button doesn't show over any possible text
var device = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase();
var ios = device.match(/(iphone|ipod|ipad)/);
$('video').each(function(index){
var img = $(this).children("img");
if (ios) {
$(this).replaceWith(img);
}
console.log("this " + index);
});
// break byline to two lines so that "| The Register-Guard" doesn't break with multiple authors
if ($(window).width() <= 1005){
$(".bat_break").replaceWith("<br>");
}
// smooth scrolling on an in-page link
$(function() {
$('a[href*=#]:not([href=#])').click(function() {
if (location.pathname.replace(/^\//,'') == this.pathname.replace(/^\//,'') && location.hostname == this.hostname) {
var target = $(this.hash);
target = target.length ? target : $('[name=' + this.hash.slice(1) +']');
if (target.length) {
$('html,body').animate({
scrollTop: target.offset().top
}, 1000);
return false;
}
}
});
});
</script>
<!-- [BEGIN] Chartbeat -->
<script type='text/javascript'>
var _sf_async_config={};
/** CONFIGURATION START **/
_sf_async_config.uid = 61036;
_sf_async_config.domain = 'registerguard.com';
_sf_async_config.useCanonical = true;
_sf_async_config.sections = 'Local';
_sf_async_config.authors = 'Christian Hill';
/** CONFIGURATION END **/
(function(){
function loadChartbeat() {
window._sf_endpt=(new Date()).getTime();
var e = document.createElement('script');
e.setAttribute('language', 'javascript');
e.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript');
e.setAttribute('src', '//static.chartbeat.com/js/chartbeat.js');
document.body.appendChild(e);
}
var oldonload = window.onload;
window.onload = (typeof window.onload != 'function') ?
loadChartbeat : function() { oldonload(); loadChartbeat(); };
})();
</script>
<!-- [END] Chartbeat -->
<!-- [BEGIN] comScore -->
<script>
var _comscore=_comscore||[];
_comscore.push({c1:'2',c2:'14055685'});
(function(){
var s=document.createElement('script'),
el=document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
s.async=true;
s.src=(document.location.protocol=='https:'?'https://sb':'http://b')+'.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js';
el.parentNode.insertBefore(s,el);
})();
</script>
<noscript>
<img src="//b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=14055685&cv=2.0&cj=1" width="1" height="1" alt=""></noscript>
<!-- [END] comScore -->
<!-- [BEGIN] Quantcast -->
<script>
var _qevents=_qevents||[];
(function(){
var elem=document.createElement('script');
elem.src=(document.location.protocol=='https:'?'https://secure':'http://edge')+'.quantserve.com/quant.js';
elem.async=true;elem.type='text/javascript';
var scpt=document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
scpt.parentNode.insertBefore(elem,scpt);
})();
_qevents.push({qacct:'p-a2gE_aSO6ndbI'});
</script>
<noscript>
<img src="//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-a2gE_aSO6ndbI.gif" width="1" height="1" alt=""></noscript>
<!-- [END] Quantcast -->
<!-- [BEGIN] Analytics -->
<script>
(function(r,g,n,e,w,s){
r.GoogleAnalyticsObject=e;
r[e]||(r[e]=function(){(r[e].q=r[e].q||[]).push(arguments)});
r[e].l=+new Date;
w=g.createElement(n);
s=g.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];
w.src='//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js';
s.parentNode.insertBefore(w,s)}(
window,document,'script','ga'));
ga('create','UA-882065-1','registerguard.com');
ga('require','displayfeatures');
ga('require','linkid','linkid.js');
ga('send','pageview');
console.log('ga-pageview');
</script>
<!-- [END] Analytics -->
</body>
</html>