Timothy Charles Holmseth
320 17th Street N.W.
Unit# 17
East Grand Forks, MN
56721
218.773.1299
218.230.1597 (cell)
www.writeintoaction.com
tholmseth@wiktel.com
In Re: UND / Police Shooting in North Dakota
June 28, 2016
Wayne Stenehjem
North Dakota Attorney General
State Capitol
600 E. Boulevard Ave.
Dept. 125
Bismarck, ND
58505
Wayne Stenehjem,
I am contacting you because you are the North Dakota Attorney General and oversee the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
This is in regards to events pertaining to the pursuit and shooting of David James Elliott, which originally occurred on February 27-28, 2015 in North Dakota.
Mr. Elliott was shot by University of North Dakota police officer Jerad Braaten (Mr. Braaten was subsequently hired by the Grand Forks Police Department).
The ND BCI investigated the aforementioned events and shooting.
I am an investigative journalist and publisher and have been independently investigating the event. I am investigating the event as a matter of public safety and its relation to drug trafficking in North Dakota and Minnesota, which is causing an unacceptable amount of mysterious overdose deaths.
On June 16, 2016 I was contacted via GoFundMe by someone claiming to be David James Elliott. I was never able to verify the person’s identity. The person provided me a cell phone number and asked me to text (shown below).
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I texted the person on June 16, 2016, at the cell phone number provided and the person responded. The person commenced to providing me extensive details regarding various areas of the case. The exchange was extensive and lasted several hours throughout the day.
My immediate area of focus regarding these suspicious communications is information the person provided me regarding:
- Actual number of times UND officer Jerad Braaten fired his weapon
- Actual number of locations UND officer Jerad Braaten pulled the trigger on his firearm
The person claiming to be Mr. Elliott told me in both the GoFundMe email and subsequent texts that Jerad Braaten fired his weapon 14 times. In texts, the person told me Jerad Braaten attempted to shoot him while he was atop the Columbia Road bridge overpass - but that his gun jammed.
Example messages below:
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In Paragraph K of the BCI interview with Jerad Braaten it states Mr. Braaten recalls firing his weapon 5 to 8 times.
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The BCI report provides no explanation as to why Mr. Braaten would eject his magazine and reload it with a new one if he’d only fired 5-8 times; considering that his magazine holds 15 rounds.
In close review of audio/video files I obtained from the Grand Forks Police Department I observe (counted) what sounds like 14 popping sounds.
The first 6-7 popping sounds are very pronounced and are then followed by 7-8 popping sounds that seem muffled compared to the first. They would either be (1) all shots from Mr. Braaten’s firearm, (2) echoes, or (3) shots from a separate firearm.
You can hear the select audio of the gunfire at the following You Tube link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03YuW9fmyOc&feature=youtu.be
The author of the email and text messages said there were 14 shots, and 8 of those shots caused wounds to Mr. Elliott. The texts also say a total of 10 shots hit the truck.
If the author of the texts is correct – there is evidence of bullet entry points in Mr. Elliott’s body, vehicle, and Altru Hospital, totaling more than can be explained by the 5-8 times Mr. Braaten said he fired his weapon.
The author also spoke of Mr. Braaten denying ownership of a cartridge that was located on the Columbia Road overpass until his “fingerprints” were found on it. The author of the text said Mr. Braaten’s attempted to shoot Mr. Elliott atop the bridge.
The BCI report discusses a cartridge and Mr. Braaten’s activities atop the Columbia Road overpass.
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The author suggested there has been a concerted effort to conceal all the video evidence of the shooting from the public.
This letter is to legally memorialize the text exchange I had with the person claiming to be David James Elliott.
Respectfully submitted,
Timothy Charles Holmseth
Cc: Ed Schafer, Mark Kennedy, Eric Plummer, Darla Schuman
