Reply #15: Secret Service SAID it was accident.... They are in charge [View All]

[bluedog]

Sally May, Whittington's daughter, said Tuesday that she is concerned about her father's change in condition, but remains "very confident with this hospital."

May said she still regarded the shooting as an accident.

"Just because of Cheney's profile, it's getting all this attention," she said. "It does not change anything. It was just an accident.

"snip

Kenedy County sheriff's investigators ruled Monday that the shooting was an accident.

And Ramiro Medellin, a county constable who also works at the ranch, said he had no doubts it was an accident. But it did not surprise him that Salinas did not question anyone the evening of the shooting.

*******Secret Service agents told the sheriff that it was an accident, and he trusted their word.********




"This is the federal government, and they run the show," Medellin said Tuesday. "They say who comes and goes. They are in charge. I know from experience."

A spokesman for the Secret Service declined to comment about the sheriff's investigation. But he said federal agents acted properly by informing the sheriff of the shooting within an hour of its occurrence.

"It was at the sheriff's request that somebody come out the following morning, which we facilitated and passed through to the vice president's office," said Eric Zahren, a spokesman for the Secret Service.

And Cheney spokeswoman Jennifer Mayfield said "the vice president was available immediately after the incident for questioning."

"Our**** Secret Service (detail) reached out to the sheriff's office," she said. "The sheriff's office suggested 10 a.m. (Sunday). The vice president wanted to do it sooner and the meeting happened at 8 a.m. He was always available for questioning,"

Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens also have responsibility for investigating hunting accidents in Texas. A report by game warden Jason Duke does not indicate that he got a statement from the vice president.

Tom Harvey, a spokesman for Parks and Wildlife, said Duke did his duty.

"The facts regarding the hunting accident were gathered and reported," Harvey said.

But Ronald R. Scott, a retired Massachusetts state trooper who now consults in ballistics cases, said the investigators erred by not going to the ranch on Saturday night. Investigators probably lost their chance to recreate the scene of the shooting, he said.

"I think that is improper to be quite honest," Scott said. "Even if there was no wrongdoing, it is still improper not to do it."
Dallas Morning News correspondents Colleen McCain Nelson in Dallas, Pete Slover in Austin and Todd J. Gillman in Washington contributed to this report.


http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/13872544.htm