"Tillman investigations yield some startling findings " Nov 06, relegated to CBS sports coverage.

Tillman investigations yield some startling findings
Nov. 9, 2006
Associated Press


Cease fire, friendlies, I am Pat (expletive) Tillman, damn it!" the former NFL star shouted, again and again.

The latest inquiry into Tillman's death by friendly fire should end next month. But the Associated Press has combed through the results of 2¼ years of investigations -- reviewed thousands of pages of internal Army documents, interviewed dozens of people familiar with the case -- and uncovered some startling findings.

One of the four shooters, Staff Sgt. Trevor Alders, had recently had PRK laser eye surgery. Although he could see two sets of hands "straight up," his vision was "hazy," he said. In the absence of "friendly identifying signals," he assumed Tillman and an allied Afghan -- who also was killed -- were enemy.

Another, Spc. Steve Elliott, said he was "excited" by the sight of rifles, muzzle flashes and "shapes." A third, Spc. Stephen Ashpole, said he saw two figures, and just aimed where everyone else was shooting.

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An investigator, Brig. Gen. Gary M. Jones, would later find that an "artificial sense of urgency" to keep Tillman's platoon moving was a crucial factor in his death.

Associated Press reporters Scott Lindlaw and Martha Mend wrote this story.