EXCLUSIVE w/Video: Grand Forks County States Attorney and BCI covering up drug related homicide AND attempted murder by cop

“…you could have murdered someone”
     - GFPD Matthew Bullinger

by Timothy Charles Holmseth on January 5, 2017, 10:51 P.M. CST

Grand Forks County States Attorney David Jones and N.D. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem have betrayed the public.

Jones and Stenehjem are providing cover for what appears to be a crime syndicate.

Grand Forks States Attorney David Jones	N.D. A.G. Wayne Stenehjem

Let’s get to it.  

On February 27, 2015, at 10:11 P.M., the Grand Forks Police Department (GFPD) responded to the residence of Caitlin Jenna Erickson.

The young mother was dead – the autopsy stated the Cause of Death was “multidrug and ethanol toxicity” – Manner of Death was “undetermined”.

GFPD police reports reveal Erickson had a history of using “pain medication” and a “small baggie of pills” was located on her kitchen counter.

Erickson’s death was quickly dismissed by the GFPD as nothing suspicious.

Yeah … right …

Erickson’s last day had been spent with a man named Mario Parson, visiting a pawn shop, and desperately attempting to come up with some money for someone.

Caitlin Jenna Erickaon

Parson claimed he left Erickson at her apartment for a short period of time to take care of some business that involved money. He told police that when he returned, Erickson was unconscious – and could not be saved.

Erickson’s neighbor, Desiree Gomez, told police she heard Erickson and Parson arguing in the bathroom amidst loud banging sounds and the shower turning off and on.

Parson’s story did not even remotely match the evidence.

The GFPD’s fake investigation was a joke.

Now… watch this …

Thirty minutes later…

On February 27, 2015, at 10:41 P.M., a cleaning lady at Wells Fargo Bank in Grand Forks called the police to report a vehicle was parked in the bank parking lot and had been there for quite some time.

When Grand Forks police officer Dan Harvala arrived at Wells Fargo, the pick-up truck drove away. Harvala attempted the pull the vehicle over for running a stop sign a few minutes later and the vehicle fled at high speeds.

For the next two hours, David James Elliott, the driver of the pick-up truck, having now called ‘911’ himself, stayed on the telephone with Grand Forks police officer Matthew Bullinger, as he (Elliott) drove up and down (north and south) I-29 with law enforcement following him.

Elliott told the 911 operator that he knew Bullinger.

Elliott told Bullinger he had gone to Wells Fargo to put money in his wife’s bank account and then parked in the lot as he pondered suicide.

“…you could have murdered someone”

Bullinger told Elliott he regretted the chase had ensued. “We didn’t know what was going when we started chasing you. For all we know you could have murdered someone,” Bullinger said.

Elliott told Bullinger he was committing suicide. He claimed he wanted the police to just leave him alone so he could die.

David James Elliott

However…

While professing a desire to die, Elliott was simultaneously expressing dire fear that he was being followed by former Walsh County Sheriff, Lauren Wild.

Elliott told Bullinger that Wild is a corrupt and very dangerous cop.

North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) files show investigators found “thousands” of pills in Elliott’s truck after the shooting. BCI Special Agent Michael Ness told David Elliott’s wife, Jennifer Elliott, “We found three bags of pills”.

No charges were ever filed against anyone regarding the pills.

According to Jennifer Elliott during her interview with the BCI, the pain medications her husband possessed were all coming from Altru doctors. “He gets it all from doctors. It’s all coming from doctors at Altru,” she said.

Jennifer Elliott described her interactions with Altru.

“He keeps coming here and you (Barb Norman) keep prescribing stuff – so I said what’s your plan – what’s your plan here what were going to come here every three months and your going sit and go oh you need this one – okay we’ll print that one – what else do you need? Oh you out of this one? Oh okay were going to print that one. Okay and after sitting and watching her do that for twenty minutes I start to argue with her and say what’s your plan – do you have a plan here for him more than just to give out drugs,” Jennifer Elliott said.

Jennifer Elliott expressed dismay that Altru was prescribing David Elliott “morphine” for headaches.

At the end of the bizarre pursuit, David Elliott was inexplicably shot in front of the Altru Hospital Emergency Room by a rookie UND police officer named Jerad Braaten. 

Jennifer Elliott told BCI agents that “Lauren Wild” is a friend of their family. She said after the shooting, Lauren Wild claimed he knew Braaten, and that Braaten had worked for the Grafton Police Department but was asked to leave.

Another oddity regarding the pursuit is the fact David Elliott told Write Into Action that a vehicle from the U.S. Border Patrol was also following him.

WRITE INTO ACTION’S INVESTIGATION

Write Into Action’s independent investigation has been met with non-stop obstacles and barriers put up by the Grand Forks Police Department, University of North Dakota Police, and North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Write Into Action received police body-cam video from the GFPD that was highly redacted by a Keeper of Records that cited no statute for the redactions.

Some of the GFPD dash-cam’s properties were altered to change color video to black and white at the most critical moments of the police shooting.

GFPD Chief Mark Nelson issued a ‘Special Order’ changing the Departments retention dates of police-cam evidence so the video could be destroyed.

Grand Forks PSAP would not provide Write Into Action the audio of David Elliott’s two hour 911 call – offering only transcriptions of the call at a fee that would have likely reached nearly two thousands dollars.

Grand Forks County PSAP has now deleted the 911 call.

The Grand Forks County States Attorney’s Office told the Grand Forks Police Department to destroy records associated with the case.

Write Into Action has obtained the David Elliott 911 call from the BCI. It was obtained only after proving its existence using BCI interviews where the audio was mentioned as being in BCI evidence.

NEW VIDEO

Using available audio and video from GFPD dash-cam, Jerad Braaten’s body cam (which only captured audio and was found hidden under his car after the shooting), and the 911 call, Write Into Action produced a new video.

The video will show evidence that supports David Elliott’s claim to Write Into Action that Jerad Braaten attempted to shoot him several minutes before the actual shooting, while atop the Columbia Road Bridge – but his gun jammed.

The viewer will hear Braaten cynically and menacingly say, “I’m going to get in front of him and see if he rams our vehicle”.

Write Into Action then identifies the point where Braaten pulls the trigger but the weapon does not fire. A few seconds later he can be heard ejecting the jammed round.

Evidence shows every law enforcement agency involved in this event conspired to hide from the truth from the public.

Visit www.writeintoaction.com for many other detailed stories regarding this case that show North Dakota law enforcement and other major entities are conspiring against their own community.  

The David James Elliott pursuit and shooting

• David James Elliott telephoned Grand Forks PSAP (911) almost immediately after GFPD Dan Harvala attempted to pull him over for running a red light. David Elliott had no meaningful criminal history and there is no known reason he would feel compelled to flee at very high speeds. He stayed on 911 with a police officer, GFPD officer Matthew Bullinger, for some two hours until he was shot while holding the phone.

• David Elliott made arrangements to meet GFPD officer Matthew Bullinger at Altru. After arriving in front of the E/R David Elliott is seen pointing in the direction where UND officer Jerad Braaten is approaching him. He fled again on four flat tires and was shot through his back window by Jerad Braaten.

• David Elliott was unarmed.

• David Elliott had thousands of prescription pills in his truck that BCI agent Michael Ness said where in “bags”.

• Jennifer Elliott, David Elliott’s wife, said all the pills her husband possessed were all coming from Altru doctors.

•  Grand Forks PSAP deleted the 911 call.

• UND police officer Jerad Braaten was not scheduled to work on the night he interjected himself into a slow speed pursuit and shot David Elliott. 

• UND police officer Jerad Braaten, a rookie cop on his first job, was inexplicably training an intern (on a night he was not even supposed to work), Heather Hopkins, on the night of the shooting. 

• David Elliott was nearly completely stopped atop the Columbia Road Bridge where he was trying to meet GFPD officer Matthew Bullinger. He continued inching forward as Jerad Braaten was pointing a gun at him.

• The audio portion of UND police officer Jerad Braaten’s body-cam captured him telling Hopkins he hoped to provoke David Elliott into ramming him.  

• David James Elliott told Write Into Action (Timothy Charles Holmseth) that Jerad Braaten attempted to shoot him minutes before the actual shooting, while atop the Columbia Road Bridge, but his gun jammed.

• The audio portion of Jerad Braaten’s body-cam reveals a clicking sound on Braaten’s gun that sounds like a misfire atop the Columbia Road Bridge.  

• Jerad Braaten’s dash-cam was never found and/or entered into BCI evidence. 

• Jerad Braaten’s body-cam was found underneath his squad car where he tried to hide it.  

• Jerad Braaten did not put his body-cam on his shirt until a few minutes before he joined the pursuit and shot David Elliott (although he had supposedly been on-duty for hours). 

• Jerad Braaten had UNDPD intern Heather Hopkins put the body-cam on his shirt, which was placed on him improperly and captured no visual (except the moment it’s thrown under the car).

• After the shooting, the audio portion of Jerad Braaten’s body-cam reveals he asked Heather Hopkins if she saw David Elliott try to run a police officer over. Hopkins promptly replied yes. Braaten then told her he would need a witness statement confirming it and she said she would give it. However, when Hopkins was interviewed by the BCI she balked, and said she didn’t see what happened.

• GFPD Sgt. Mark Ellingson, the officer that Jerad Braaten said he was worried about, is captured on audio at the scene telling Jerad Braaten he was never in any danger.

• UNDPD chief Eric Plummer reprimanded Jerad Braaten in writing regarding issues with his police-cams.

• GFPD chief Mark Nelson subsequently hired Jerad Braaten onto his Department.

• Videos obtained by Write Into Action have been tampered with by someone using a video editor. For instance – dash-cam from the squad car of GFPD officer Dan Harvala is in clear crisp color on most of the footage. However, the portion that actually shows the shooting in the distance has been converted to black and white which obscures the details.

• Video showing what happened atop the Columbia Road Bridge has been redacted.

• Videos obtained by Write Into Action reveal the time-stamps on the dash-cams do not even remotely match the events taking place on the officer body-cams.

• David Elliot was shot three times in the head and his ear drum was blown out. Two of his fingers were shot off but re-attached.

• After being hired by the GFPD, Jerad Braaten was at the scene of a fireworks accident in Grand Forks where a man’s fingers were blown off. The fingers disappeared. They were found later on a picnic table in East Grand Forks.

The following is my investigative opinion.

• It is my investigative opinion that Jerad Braaten sounds like a psychopath when he is talking to Heather Hopkins.

• It is my opinion Jerad Braaten may have taken the fingers from the fireworks scene and kept them. He may have placed them in the Red River Valley Campground as a trophy of what he did to David Elliott and/or an ominous message to the drug trafficking underworld. 

• It is my opinion GFPD chief Mark Nelson has violated his oath, betrayed the public, and is engaging in extensive efforts to cover up events that involve drug trafficking, shootings, and homicide(s).

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