It's getting messy...
http://www.timesleader.com/news/opinion_columns/50639983/THEIR-VIEW-Investigate-Feds-Frein-story
"When members of a federal special operations team captured accused cop killer Eric Frein, the highest-ranking Pennsylvania State Police officials agreed at a press conference that injuries to Freins face happened before law enforcement apprehended him.
Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan confirmed that fact. So did Lt. Col George Bivens. Gov. Tom Corbett provided silent affirmation as he stood to the side.
Now those same state police officials say that the U.S. Marshals Service officials did not tell them the truth when they briefed state police about Freins arrest. The marshals supposedly provided wrong information that the state police then told the world.
When marshals who participated in the capture later explained in press accounts that they ground Freins face into the asphalt as they took him into custody, the integrity of the Pennsylvania State Police praised for its discipline and restraint during the 48-day hunt for the man who allegedly killed one trooper and severely wounded another was now being questioned.
Yet state police officials said nothing in their own defense.
I reported during my radio show last Monday that some members of the PSP wanted to defend themselves. They had worked too hard and too long to let anyone from another law enforcement agency smear their stellar reputation.
The troopers said Noonan and Bivens only reported what they were told.
Now they felt manipulated and disrespected.
Earlier in the day, I had called and left a message for Bivens, inviting him on the air to talk about the controversy. Some people accused the state police of covering up for the use of excess force. Some people accused the PSP of refusing to tell the public the whole truth. Some people felt betrayed, since they had provided overwhelming public support for police all police during the long and dangerous manhunt.
I had not known when I called for Bivens, though, that some officers were angry about marshals misleading them, hoping that Bivens would speak and clear up the confusion. Obviously they could not speak on the record. But they could get the word out. And they did, through a credible source I know and trust.
Until then, I had some serious questions of my own.
The first photograph of Frein after his Oct. 30 capture showed a nasty gash across the bridge of his nose. A colleague who showed me the picture on his cellphone said, Looks like the cops tuned him up pretty good.
Well have to wait and see, I said.
The next day, too many callers to WILK willingly jumped into the rumor mill, speculating and guessing that police had indeed beaten and manhandled Frein, violating his rights.
Too many callers even endorsed revenge against the suspect.
No evidence exists that any abuse happened, I said. Repeating a refrain that I have repeated for decades in the news business, I said, In the absence of evidence to the contrary, police get the benefit of the doubt.
Gloating marshals then told their version of events. Yes, they said, they had physically scuffled with Frein as they took him into custody. Yes, he got injured in the process. Unlike initially reported by the PSP and the press, the damage to his nose and left side of his face had not happened before they spotted and captured him, the marshals said.
Until then, news reports across the world quoted marshals members of a supposedly elite squad that includes former military special operations personnel and combat vets as saying that Frein surrendered without incident. He kneeled, raised his hands over his head and went quietly, they said.
Now, they seemingly had changed their story.
I did not expect PSP to confirm what my source told me.
PSP Press Secretary Maria Finn at first declined my request to interview Bivens, saying that officials needed to protect the integrity of the investigation and that no comments would be forthcoming.
I responded in an email while I was on the air that I was not interested in facts about the investigation or prosecution of Frein. I said I needed facts about whether U.S. Marshals Service officials lied to PSP brass, who then misinformed the public. I was more interested in the integrity of the PSP than the integrity of the case. I relayed what I had reported earlier about the claim that federal marshals had misinformed the state police.
Finn quickly responded in another email (while I was on the air) that I was right.
Finn wrote: I understand and you are correct. Commissioner Noonan and Lt. Col. Bivens have only repeated what the USMS reported to them at their briefing the night Frein was taken into custody. This is why we are referring all media questions on this specific issue to the USMS. Our troopers were not on scene when Frein was apprehended so we can only provide what we were told directly from the USMS that is, the facial injuries happened prior to arrest. The discrepancy should be addressed by the USMS.
Case closed?
I hope not.
The public deserves to know exactly what happened during Freins capture. Video, if available, must be released. State police officials should answer any and all questions about the USMS briefing, including who in the Marshals Service misled them.
As of last week, no USMS representative had returned my calls.
I hope that Noonan and Bivens as well as the governor himself already have asked for a formal internal investigation.
When it comes to the public trust, the search for truth is always worth the effort."
