In an era where video cameras are ubiquitous — on stoplights, doorbells, cars, and seemingly everywhere else — when something weird happens and there’s no video of it, it smells bad.
This holds especially true when it involves law enforcement who are supposed to be equipped with body cams.
Something stinks down in Arkansas. GOP Senators Tom Cotton and John Boozman, both representing Arkansas, are calling for an investigation after learning that some Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents who were executing a search warrant were not wearing their body cameras, according to KARK-TV.
“The senators say this is a violation of ATF and Justice Department policy,” according to the report.
The Department of Justice confirmed to me and @JohnBoozman last night that the ATF agents involved in the execution of a search warrant of the home of Bryan Malinowski weren’t wearing body cameras. We will continue to press the Department to explain how this violation of its own…
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) April 19, 2024
The incident cost Bryan Malinowski, executive director of Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, his life.
Malinowski got in a shootout on March 19 with ATF agents serving a 6 a.m. search warrant on his home in Litte Rock. He died from injuries received during the gunplay on March 21.
In the search warrant affidavit, the ATF claimed Malinowski was selling guns without a license. Bud Cummins, the lawyer for the Malinowski family, claimed Bryan Malinowski was selling guns legally through the gun-show loophole provision.
Should there be a larger investigation into this raid?
Something’s rotten. Why would highly trained ATF agents storm the house of a man they thought might be selling firearms illegally without wearing bodycams?
Did the agents collectively forget to put on the bodycams before going on the early morning raid? That would seem like quite the coincidence. Could it be that all the agents were simply incompetent? It’s possible, but implausible.
If the agents had been wearing bodycams and had them turned on, they could be cleared — or not — of any wrongdoing, lickety-split. The fact that they failed to follow protocol does nothing but cast a dark cloud of suspicion over the entire incident.
Cotton and Boozman put out a joint statement on April 19 that read, “The Department of Justice confirmed to us last night that the ATF agents involved in the execution of a search warrant of the home of Bryan Malinowski weren’t wearing body cameras.”
It took the two senators a while to catch the scent, but when they did, they knew it smelled bad.
“We will continue to press the Department to explain how this violation of its own policy could’ve happened and to disclose the full circumstances of this tragedy,” the statement continued. “Mr. Malinowski’s family and the public have a right to a full accounting of the facts.”
On Thursday, State Sen. Mark Johnson held a news conference with other lawmakers, asking for ATF body camera disclosure, according to KARK. Johnson, in something of an understatement, said it was troubling to find out that agents weren’t wearing cameras.
“It bothers me a lot,” Johnson said.
🚨New: The executive director of Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport Bryan Malinowski has died from injuries sustained in a shootout with ATF federal agents during a raid to execute a search warrant at his home in Arkansas. pic.twitter.com/0R25J3gqRr
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) March 22, 2024
Johnson went on to explain that law enforcement is not liable in certain circumstances because they have what is called qualified immunity, but, “if they didn’t follow the rules they shouldn’t have immunity.”
The question looms: Why weren’t the ATF agents wearing bodycams? Is this common or is this an exception? If it is the latter, what happened?
Malinowski wasn’t suspected of a violent crime. How will we ever know for sure whether the ATF agents announced themselves before they forcefully entered his home? Would Malinowski have had reasonable suspicion to believe he was the victim of a home invasion?
Cotton and Boozman mean to find out — if they can.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin thanked the senators for bringing attention to the matter in a post on X.
Thank you to @SenTomCotton and @JohnBoozman for demanding answers to questions many of us have been asking of @ATFHQ.
Why weren’t agents wearing body cameras? Why the silence? #arnews https://t.co/PoUkMAVis6
— Attorney General Tim Griffin (@AGTimGriffin) April 19, 2024
According to KARK, an Arkansas State Police spokesperson said they are investigating the incident as an officer-involved shooting.
As for the ATF, a spokesperson for the agency made a statement on Friday night, “As is standard practice, this matter is under review by state and local authorities in Arkansas. The Department of Justice does not comment on pending matters.”
With the Biden DOJ’s reputation for weaponizing law enforcement against people they don’t like — i.e. Donald Trump — the fed’s official stance won’t do much to clear up the mystery.
