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Loading ...Navy investigates gay sailor’s death in Calif.
07.03.2009 11:21am EDT
(San Diego) The death of a gay sailor who was killed as he stood guard at Camp Pendleton doesn’t appear to be a hate crime, officials said Thursday.
Seaman August Provost of Houston was found shot multiple times Tuesday in what investigators are calling a random act unrelated to the 29-year-old’s sexuality.“It is clear to the investigators right now that it could have been any sailor standing watch,” Navy spokesman Capt. Matt Brown told The Associated Press.
Some in the gay community had called for a hate crimes probe. Nicole Murray-Ramirez, chairman of the San Diego Human Relations Commission, said Provost’s family told her that personnel on the base had been harassing the sailor.
Earlier in the day, Democratic Rep. Bob Filner of San Diego, who chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he would call for a Defense Department probe to see if the killing was a hate crime.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has taken a “person of interest” into custody but had not filed any charges. Navy officials said he had made incriminating statements that tied him to the killing, though these statements did not constitute a confession.
Another sailor was questioned and released Wednesday.
Brown said Provost’s killer burned the guard shack to cover up evidence.
Brown described Provost as “a rising star in our Navy,” who entered the service in March 2008. He had completed basic training and subsequent technical schools and was beginning preparations for overseas deployment.
Someone, obviously, was jealous of the “rising star.”
Where are the surveillance Tapes? Every base has them at the Guard Shacks! Oh and Those Wonderful Guard Shacks are nothing more than PLYWOOD with PLEXIGLASS Not Bullett Proof Glass. He didnt even have enough time to shield him self and call or RADIO for backup. Come to think of it Useually those Guard Shacks have 2 Guards Especially on Large bases. I know the one in NE pa. has 2 – 4 at any given time. Something Smells and it isn’t Herring!
DADT kills another one. Lest see 1st lt Choi a West point Grad outs him self in the NY guard; 2nd a Sailor is killed Guarding a a Military Base? Ever heard of the Blue Wall Shiled well this is called the Green Wall Shield. Did you see any thing; no did you, I didnt think so . If you say anything your Career is Ruined. If it looks like a Duck and Walks like a Duck and Quack’s like a Duck then it’s a Duck. HATE CRIME Naaahh Just some Good Ole Boys funnin !! GRRR Ok Pres Obama Lets see what you do with this one!!!!!! Can I get odds 25 to 1, on nothing? HA!
“Personnel on the base been harassing the sailor”…. smells like a hate crime, absolutely.
Someone needs to be brought to justice for this murder.
Anyone who attacks or kills a member of the US military should be considered an enemy combatant. Why is the perpetrator not tried as such?
…gives a whole new meaning to “don’t ask, don’t tell”….
Don’t you feel safe knowing that gun shots and a fire at the gate to Camp Pendleton went unnoticed until the shift change? Gun shots and a burning Guard House? At the entrance?
The Base Commander said that he had no reports of any harassment. Because perhaps his answer would have been “You’re fired”!
They have somebody in custody. My guess is that he will claim the victim gave him the eye or tried coming onto him. At the Guard Gate to a military base.
Another rising star done away with.
I’m interested in what they feel the motive was if it wasn’t a hate crime.
Has the military gone that far down hill?
When I was part of the Security Forces for Naval Station San Diego, even when I serving a single-person station like Provost was, there was still a requirement for regular radio check-ins. There was still a roving supervisor who made rounds on a regular basis monitoring all the guard posts. After all, aren’t we still at Threat Level “Orange” or whatever ridiculous color-based elevated threat system we are using now?
There is nothing about this story that sounds correct to me. Sailors assigned to Marine bases serving as guards (really?) don’t just disappear while on duty without someone noticing – unless someone in their unit is involved and WANTS them to disappear.
It’s time to dig deeper and quit making excuses. The Navy tried to claim that Allen Schindler wasn’t killed for being gay either – and we all know what really happened in that case.
Another HONORABLE gay person, MURDERED by his/her own people, while defending THEM!
Sometimes, I just hate the human race….
Ken, this is under investigation. There is nothing in this story to indicate that it is yet known who did the shooting. Sure, they have a person of interest. But what does prove until they investigate him further? The man is innocent until proven guilty.
Morgan, I felt the same way when I read this story here. Then, I read the complete stories as they were posted on news sites.
This was indeed a fellow sailor that they are looking at and NCIS is admitting that they have forensic evidence linking him to the crime and that the sailor, this “person of interest” made many incriminating statements linking him to the murder. All this and it’s only day 3. 365gay, just gives us a slice of what’s reported by the major news and unfortunately leaves out huge chunks of VERY important info.
The sailor that they’re looking at may be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but I think it is safe to say that they’re looking at the right guy when forensic evidence and his own words are pointing in his direction.
This sickens me. I was also brutally attacked for being gay while in the Navy on New Years Eve of 2007. I am still traumatized by what happened and that Is why I was discharged a few months later. Seeing this in the headlines just shocks me and brings back the pain all over again. I was lucky, I lived although I should not have by all accounts due to my injuries. Obama and the government must overturn DADT and put in safeguards for Gay and Lesbian servicemebers. It’s already too late to bring back SN Provost, but we can prevent another thing like this taking place again. Please for not only my sake but the sake of the family of this innocent victim, and the families of other active LGBT people serving, act now. Make sure your voice is heard. It is time we stand and fight against these injustices.
This is certainly a hate crime. Where were the other guards at the gate? There are always multiple guards at these checkpoints, did they committ the crime themselves?
I blame Obama, and I HATE Obama for not repealing or making DADT “null and void”!!!! He should have signed an ORDER putting a stop to the policy, but what did he do – he continued with this 1993 policy!!!!
What ANGERS me is that criminals and the worst of the worst can serve but a gay man can not????????!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh yes it is a great policy indeed [NOT]!!!!
[But then again Obama is black and black people are homophobic and recently voted FOR Prop 8 in "redneck and going-backward" California!!!!]
DADT policy has killed and bashed many gay people, who are excellent marines and soildiers who fight for OUR FREEDOM, the policy has caused 9/11 because the interpetars were fired a week prior of that happening. Marines are great –
I know I sleeped with one!!!!
Remember these names Obama (the people you let down)
* Allen R. Schindler, Jr.
* Barry Winchell (not gay, but was “thought” to be gay)
* Timothy R. McVeigh
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don‘t_ask,_don’t_tell
http://www.sldn.org/pages/sldn-report-7
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Sorry I do not get this quote:
“doesn’t appear to be a hate crime, officials said”
This is bullshit, IT WAS A HATE CRIME!!!
Well I must who are the officials? – you really have to questions their intergrity and intelligence!!!!!
Officials did not have their eyes open I must say when they did not “appear” to be smart. I must say then you have to quetion the whole US military on how dumb people in the US military really are!!!!
Obama 09 means = he hates the fuck out of us = KEEPS DADT and DOMA policy = more victims of hate crimes in the US military and on US soil.
Obama is both a Muslim and black – the two groups of people that HATE gays [I voted for Hillary]. With a middle name of “Hussain”, surly he would have to be a Muslim!!!