IRS agent acquitted of manslaughter in deadly Arizona gun range shooting
PHOENIX - An Internal Revenue Service agent was acquitted on Feb. 19 of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a fellow agent at an Arizona gun range.
What we know:
According to the Associated Press, Larry Edward Brown Jr. was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter of a U.S. officer, in connection with the death of IRS Special Agent Patrick Bauer on Aug. 17, 2023. He was indicted in March 2024.
Brown, who cried when the verdict was announced, offered his "sincerest condolences to the Bauer family" in a statement issued through his attorneys.
What Brown Said:
"Pat was a great man," Brown said. "He was a mentor and like a brother to me. I miss him every day."
Shooting happened at Phoenix area facility
The shooting occurred in a one-room building at a gun range at the Federal Correctional Institution in Phoenix.
16 IRS criminal investigators, who examine violations of tax, money laundering and other federal laws, had taken part in the pistol qualification and classroom exercises at the complex.
Timeline:
At the time of the shooting, Bauer had just finished overseeing standard live-fire pistol qualification exercises.
After the session ended, another IRS agent left the building to get his phone and heard a gunshot seconds later. Per the indictment, the agent saw Brown, who was a defensive tactics instructor, running out and yelling that he had messed up and shot Bauer.
Bauer, who was shot in the upper torso, died during surgery. No one else was in the building at the time.
After the shooting, Brown was taken to a different medical center, where he was diagnosed with an acute stress reaction. While at the hospital, the indictment alleged, Brown repeatedly said out loud, "I am a use of force instructor. I should know better."
According to the Associated Press, FBI Agent Taylor Hannah has been identified in court records as the person who said she heard Brown make that comment, but Brown's lawyers said their client never said those words.
Prosecutors accuse Brown of recklessly handling weapons
The backstory:
During the trial, prosecutors accused Brown of handling his gun with reckless disregard for human life when the shooting happened.
They said Brown violated fundamental firearms safety rules, such as always treating a gun as if it's loaded, keeping its muzzle pointed in a safe direction and refraining from touching it's trigger until ready to fire.
As for Bauer, prosecutors said his death was preventable.
The other side:
Brown's lawyers, meanwhile, said Bauer's death was a terrible accident, that the agents were friends and that Brown came to Bauer's aid, including by calling 911, forming a chest seal to maintain the function of Bauer's lungs, and asking other federal officers at the complex for help.
Dr. Kenji Inaba, a medical expert hired on behalf of Brown, said in a report that Bauer would have more likely than not survived his injuries had he been taken to the hospital sooner. Inaba said the ambulance that transported Bauer to the hospital left the scene about 25 minutes after the shooting, and it took another 14 minutes to get to the hospital.
Inaba suggested federal agents who had medical training could have transported Bauer to the hospital instead of waiting for an ambulance in a location that doesn't have a trauma center nearby.
Prosecutors, however, retorted that Bauer may still have died, even with standard care and no delays.