AP: Pentagon to cite 9 officers in ex-NFL star's death
POSTED: 9:22 p.m. EDT, March 23, 2007
Story Highlights
• Pentagon officials say officers to be held accountable for missteps
• Tillman died in Afghanistan in 2004 after giving up NFL career
• Death originally reported as enemy action, later revealed as friendly fire
WASHINGTON -- Pentagon officials say a Defense Department investigation will recommend that nine officers be held accountable for the aftermath of the friendly-fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman, according to The Associated Press.
The Pentagon's inspector general will describe errors and inappropriate conduct during the military's investigation of the former football star's death in Afghanistan in 2004, one defense official told AP.
The official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the investigation, told AP that military leaders may have lacked adequate information or failed to pursue it.
The U.S. Army last year launched a criminal investigation into the death of Tillman, who gave up his career with the National Football League's Arizona Cardinals to fight terrorism after the 9/11 attacks.
Initial reports after his death said Tillman, 27, was shot and killed by Taliban forces during an ambush on April 22, 2004. An investigation later found that fellow soldiers shot Tillman, thinking he was part of an enemy force firing at them.
Tillman's family demanded to know why his uniform and body armor were burned a day after he was killed and why they were not immediately told he might have been killed by fellow soldiers.
A 2005 report from Brig. Gen. Gary Jones contained sworn statements from soldiers involved in the incident who said they burned the items because they had taken pictures of the scene and knew how Tillman had been killed.
Initially, Tillman's blood-covered uniform and armor were said to have been destroyed because they were considered a biohazard.
Two years before his death, Tillman walked away from a $3.6 million contract with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals to serve in the military. He was posthumously awarded a Silver Star.
Tillman was a member of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment based at Fort Lewis, Washington. His brother, Kevin, trained with him and served in the same unit.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/23/tillman.death/index.html
