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This blockbuster report, first hinted at by @jasonashville a few days ago, and expounded on by @natalie_allison and @NC5_BenHall tonight, raises so many questions, especially in light of the police report and MNPD’s damage-control press release.
Yet another thread 1x/ https://twitter.com/natalie_allison/status/1344106245238743040
Yet another thread 1x/ https://twitter.com/natalie_allison/status/1344106245238743040
The police document that these reports reference is a single, four-page Incident Report.
This is the basic form that officers fill out when they respond to a scene and take a complaint.
You can find it online here, thanks to @WKRN:
2/x
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20438452/matter-of-record.pdf
This is the basic form that officers fill out when they respond to a scene and take a complaint.
You can find it online here, thanks to @WKRN:
2/x
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20438452/matter-of-record.pdf
The most important part of this report is the narrative, which tells us that Warner’s girlfriend said, AND I QUOTE:
“[Warner] was building bombs in the RV trailer at residence.”
3/x
![The most important part of this report is the narrative, which tells us that Warner’s girlfriend said, AND I QUOTE:“[Warner] was building bombs in the RV trailer at residence.”3/x](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EqdhpYWW8AEdZmt.jpg "The most important part of this report is the narrative, which tells us that Warner’s girlfriend said, AND I QUOTE:“[Warner] was building bombs in the RV trailer at residence.”3/x")
“[Warner] was building bombs in the RV trailer at residence.”
3/x
But, wait! There’s more.
Warner’s OWN ATTORNEY said, and AGAIN I QUOTE:
“[Warner] frequently talks about . . . bomb making[,] . . .knows what he is doing and is capable of making a bomb.”
**WARNER’S ATTORNEY** said this. To police.
4/x
![But, wait! There’s more. Warner’s OWN ATTORNEY said, and AGAIN I QUOTE:“[Warner] frequently talks about . . . bomb making[,] . . .knows what he is doing and is capable of making a bomb.” **WARNER’S ATTORNEY** said this. To police.4/x](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eqdie4UXYAEGVwP.jpg "But, wait! There’s more. Warner’s OWN ATTORNEY said, and AGAIN I QUOTE:“[Warner] frequently talks about . . . bomb making[,] . . .knows what he is doing and is capable of making a bomb.” **WARNER’S ATTORNEY** said this. To police.4/x")
Warner’s OWN ATTORNEY said, and AGAIN I QUOTE:
“[Warner] frequently talks about . . . bomb making[,] . . .knows what he is doing and is capable of making a bomb.”
**WARNER’S ATTORNEY** said this. To police.
4/x
Wouldn’t you know it? When officers arrived at Warner’s home, *there was an RV in the backyard.*
But that wasn’t all they saw. There also were “several security cameras and wires attached to an alarm sign on the front door.”
5/x
But that wasn’t all they saw. There also were “several security cameras and wires attached to an alarm sign on the front door.”
5/x
That’s alarming stuff, no pun intended.
So, what did police do? Try to get a search warrant? Follow up with neighbors to see if Warner was the paranoid type?
Nope. They knocked on the door. Warner was there but wouldn’t open the door.
So they just ... left.
6/x
So, what did police do? Try to get a search warrant? Follow up with neighbors to see if Warner was the paranoid type?
Nope. They knocked on the door. Warner was there but wouldn’t open the door.
So they just ... left.
6/x
It looks like it wasn’t just junior officers on the scene, either. The first officers there called for a supervisor, who came to the scene.
And, after they all left, they passed the information to detectives in the “SID,” which is the Specialized Investigations Division.
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And, after they all left, they passed the information to detectives in the “SID,” which is the Specialized Investigations Division.
7/x
This was the right call, as SID handles “Counter-Terrorism,” according to MNPD’s website.
It also handles, um, “large scale” gambling, prostitution, seizures, crime stoppers, gangs, and — you guessed it — NARCOTICS cases.
One thing on this list is not like the others.
8/x
It also handles, um, “large scale” gambling, prostitution, seizures, crime stoppers, gangs, and — you guessed it — NARCOTICS cases.
One thing on this list is not like the others.
8/x
The report also lists one of the officers who responded, his supervisor who approved the report, and another supervisor who reviewed it. It lists contact info for Warner’s girlfriend and his attorney.
But that’s where the paper trail ends.
Or does it?
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But that’s where the paper trail ends.
Or does it?
9/x
Longtime MNPD spokesman Don Aaron released a lengthy statement in response to @NC5_BenHall’s questions.
In it, he gave many more details about what led to the call to Warner’s home. He talks about suicidal threats and guns and the fact the girlfriend needed a psych eval.
10/x
In it, he gave many more details about what led to the call to Warner’s home. He talks about suicidal threats and guns and the fact the girlfriend needed a psych eval.
10/x
These details are notable for lots of reasons. But here’s the most curious one:
**NONE OF THEM ARE IN THE REPORT**
MNPD says they produced all relevant records. So there’s no SID report or emails with FBI. No other officer’s notes.
How, then, does MNPD know these things?
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**NONE OF THEM ARE IN THE REPORT**
MNPD says they produced all relevant records. So there’s no SID report or emails with FBI. No other officer’s notes.
How, then, does MNPD know these things?
11/x
My guess? There are either lots more reports, and they’re withholding them, or — more likely — Don Aaron knows these details because he (or someone else on MNPD’s leadership team) spoke to the officers who went to Warner’s home back then.
It’d be nice to know when.
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It’d be nice to know when.
12/x
We should learn the timing eventually, but I’d wager a guess that Chief Drake knew by the end of Christmas Day that his officers had been warned about Warner more than a year ago.
If that’s true, and he said nothing of it for five days, he’s not right for this job.
13/x
If that’s true, and he said nothing of it for five days, he’s not right for this job.
13/x
I should explain why I’d wager on the timing of Drake’s knowledge.
By the sound of it, there were maybe 4 officers involved in responding to the call made by Warner’s girlfriend, including the supervisors who approved the report.
This happened less than 16 months ago.
14/x
By the sound of it, there were maybe 4 officers involved in responding to the call made by Warner’s girlfriend, including the supervisors who approved the report.
This happened less than 16 months ago.
14/x
When these officers heard the bombing involved an RV, you better believe each of them remembered that report.
(I was a prosecutor for 8 years. Reports of a bomb in an RV aren’t an everyday occurrence.)
So, likely by noon, at least one officer remembered and told someone.
15/x
(I was a prosecutor for 8 years. Reports of a bomb in an RV aren’t an everyday occurrence.)
So, likely by noon, at least one officer remembered and told someone.
15/x
Even if only *one* officer recalled the report, that recollection would quickly move up the chain of command.
Perhaps by that evening, with 2nd Ave still smoking, Chief Drake knew that his department had royally screwed up.
But he didn’t mention it then. Or later.
16/x
Perhaps by that evening, with 2nd Ave still smoking, Chief Drake knew that his department had royally screwed up.
But he didn’t mention it then. Or later.
16/x
When did Chief Drake tell Mayor Cooper the troubling news?
That’s a question I’m sure @natalie_allison @scavendish @NC5_BenHall @flakebarmer and the rest will ask.
And when did Drake or his deputies speak to the officers themselves? It’s clear someone did before today.
17/x
That’s a question I’m sure @natalie_allison @scavendish @NC5_BenHall @flakebarmer and the rest will ask.
And when did Drake or his deputies speak to the officers themselves? It’s clear someone did before today.
17/x
Connecting the thread. Not sure how that happened. https://twitter.com/alexlittletn/status/1344170107480764416
