The Abandonment Of Posts In The Overwatch Building Is Difficult To Accept

[sgt-raven]

@bigtim

First team on the roof may have observed him injured, bleeding, but “non-compliant” to “show me your hands,” and “throw aside the weapon.” And a shot for good measure, especially if he moved at all. Or to “see if he’s dead.” Morbid and probably against policy. But reality.

I don’t see anyone carrying a suppressed small caliber pistol. If their rifle is suppressed, it is not ‘movie quiet’ suppressed. No recording has come out with that late shot on it. IMO, someone, LEO or not would have mentioned a shot that late.

[bigtim]

1. Was anyone recording that late, possibly many minutes later?
2. Whether pistol or rifle, looks like the shot entered the upper calf, blew out thru the knee. So it would have come from his rear, the access point to the roof where the police were staging to climb.

I have no other info or ideas.

[macd]

If that is a gunshot wound to his right leg from close range, shouldn’t we be looking for another casing and/or bullet on the roof?

[vegaspatriot]

@sorey

This is the position of Ben Shaffer (Washington Regional SWAT, in blue) and ? (Butler ESU, in camouflage

Seriously? I never figured one of the ESU counter-snipers as one of the officers accessing the roof after the shooting. He came a long ways from the grandstands if that’s him. And he would have to stow is rifle, not leave it setup out in the open. Are you sure that’s Ben Shaffer?

[bigtim]

How close are you envisioning the shooter to have gotten to Crooks?

To me the shot looks almost parallel trajectory to the roof, right up thru the length of his leg out the knee. Suggests a shot from perhaps far back in the parking lot to the E of the AGR, or a boosted officer on the building connector as the closest shot.

From lower, and possibly farther back (even into the parking lot) from this general angle, as an illustration.

[macd]

@vegaspatriot

Seriously? I never figured one of the ESU counter-snipers as one of the officers accessing the roof after the shooting. He came a long ways from the grandstands if that’s him. And he would have to stow is rifle, not leave it setup out in the open. Are you sure that’s Ben Shaffer?

Remarkably, it does seem like Shaffer was one of the first (three) officers on the roof. (See this post among others.)

Where Were The Two Local Snipers When Trump Was Shot?

In video 1382_202407131800_BWC2122110-0RATF, 9/12 of the body/dashcam videos from Matthew Pearson, at 18:18:32 we can see that the black-clad guy with Washington Regional SWAT is Shaffer, first name probably Ben. [ss1724050614]

[macd]

@bigtim

To me the shot looks almost parallel trajectory to the roof, right up thru the length of his leg out the knee. Suggests a shot from perhaps far back in the parking lot to the E of the AGR, or a boosted officer on the building connector as the closest shot.

I was thinking of someone directly behind him, for example, on the breezeway (“connector”). But in any case, the bullet might still be on the roof.

Also, if there was another such shot after the main shooting, wouldn’t that have been picked up on one or more of the various audio recorders in the vicinity of AGR 6? And don’t officers have to file a report every time they discharge their weapon?

So, it does look to me like a bullet entrance and exit wound on his right leg, but how could not more evidence for this have surfaced in the last 7 weeks?

[vegaspatriot]

Well, I’ll be damned! In his congressional forum interview he did mention a teammate, possibly a spotter, but either way that person likely stayed at Shaffer’s nest.

I wonder if there was possibly another Shaffer in the ESU group.

[rough_country_gypsy]

@bigtim

It’s speculation at best on how Crooks was exactly holding the rifle when shot, and the angle the bullet came from. One pure speculation, if he had the rifle in a prone aiming position with his cheek on the rear of the stock, similar but maybe more exaggerated than we see in pictures, and a bullet came from his 1 or 2 o’clock, said bullet could obliterate the stock.

I like this idea but I have questions…

1. Are there any countersnipers at Crooks 1 or 2 o’clock position at 400 yards out?

2. What if the sniper that we believe took the 9th shot instead took the tenth shot (when he thrust his arm into the air?)

3. The ninth shot coming in from 400 yards wouldn’t register as hot on Trump’s mic, but if the ground sniper took the tenth shot would it register hot as @cmartenson claims it does? That countersniper is obviously closer but the shot doesn’t come over the top of the mic.

Pure speculation but what if the ninth shot (from 400 yards) takes out the stock from the 1 or 2 o’clock position and our ground sniper delivers the head shot? It could be the reason why his head wasn’t blown off with a 30 caliber and also answer the 400-yard shot comment that keeps being tossed out. Unfortunately, everything would have to line up with the sound data, and that keeps tripping us up. Can one of the sound guys debunk this hypothesis?

[rough_country_gypsy]

I don’t know what I’m looking at but I’ve seen gunshot wounds before and I’m not convinced that’s one.

[bigtim]

Don’t know, but Crooks’ 1 or 2 o’clock could have possibly been almost any direction to the south or south west depending on his movements. He was known to have faced S and SW.

As for a counter sniper there were teams on the roof near the retaining pond, of course Hercules South, and LEOs on the ground.

@rough_country_gypsy

I don’t know what I’m looking at but I’ve seen gunshot wounds before and I’m not convinced that’s one.

If Crooks was dead and bled out it might look like a GSW where there’s no bleeding.

[vegaspatriot]

I have not seen gunshot wounds, on humans anyways, so I have no experience to go by. It just looks like one to me, and others, and I’ve yet to hear a reasonable explanation of what else it would be. If I hear one, I’ll likely be convinced it wasn’t one.

[sorey]

@vegaspatriot

He came a long ways from the grandstands if that’s him.

Now that you mention it I had to double check myself.

@vegaspatriot

Are you sure that’s Ben Shaffer?

The Shaffer on the roof is probably not Ben but likely Matthew Shaffer. He’s an Officer in the Cecil Township Police and could also be a member of the Washington Regional SWAT. Sidenote: The Lieutenant at Cecil, Guy Kuzak, is the Commander of Washington Regional SWAT.

Could only find an image of Matthew Shaffer from 2017, give it another 7 years and that could well be the one on the roof in my opinion.

[brian60221]

@sorey

The Shaffer on the roof is probably not Ben but likely Matthew Shaffer.

Great find, thanks.

[vegaspatriot]

Well done! I can sleep easier tonight knowing Ben didn’t leave his sniper nest abandoned.

[sorey]

And I couldn’t sleep not knowing if I mistakenly put Ben on the roof.
Seems we both can go to bed now

[sgt-raven]

Without a new thread, I guess this is a good place for today’s video by Chris.

Peak Prosperity - Why Aren't Investigators Asking the Right Questions of the Right People?

[kincses-zsolt]

@sorey

Matthew Shaffer. He’s an Officer in the Cecil Township Police

http://cecil-police.com/contact.html

[Officer Matthew Shaffer](mailto :mshaffer@cecil-police.com)
724.743.0940 Ext. 220

[vegaspatriot]

Since Matthew and Ben Shaffer are both from Washington County, any chance they are related? Also, I wonder if this is who Ben was referring to in his congressional forum testimony.

Ben Shaffer: “We also were running a secondary channel that was our local Washington Regional SWAT team channel.” (Source: Congressional Forum Testimony, 10:50 Mark)

Actually, Washington County had 6 ESU members at the event.

[brian60221]

It seems likely they’re brothers. The same kind of thing seemed to be happening with the Mikulans and some others.