Becherer

Becherer said he asked Gibbs whether he was a medic.

Stryker unit sought to defend killing at heart of Afghan murder probe Craig Whitlock 2010

Christopher P. Grey, a spokesman for the Army's Criminal Investigations Command at Fort Belvoir, Va., said special agents did not contact Becherer because he was only embedded with the unit after the May 2 killing.

Stryker unit sought to defend killing at heart of Afghan murder probe Craig Whitlock 2010

Army special agents conducting the killing investigation realized Becherer might possess key evidence: recordings of platoon members at the scene of one of the alleged crimes.

Stryker unit sought to defend killing at heart of Afghan murder probe Craig Whitlock 2010

Army special agents conducting the killing investigation realized Becherer might possess key evidence: recordings of platoon members at the scene of one of the alleged crimes.

Unit sought to defend killing Craig Whitlock 2010

But the documents also show that a higher-ranking officer in the Criminal Investigations Command, Lt.Col. Robert McNeil, ordered special agents not to contact Becherer.

Stryker unit sought to defend killing at heart of Afghan murder probe Craig Whitlock 2010

Three days after the cleric's death, as the platoon returned to the village, Becherer, the embedded photojournalist, noticed that Gibbs was carrying a pair of medical shears, the kind that medics use to cut the clothes off the wounded.

Stryker unit sought to defend killing at heart of Afghan murder probe Craig Whitlock 2010

Christopher P. Grey, a spokesman for the Army's Criminal Investigations Command at Fort Belvoir, Va., said special agents did not contact Becherer because he was only embedded with the unit after the May 2 killing.

Unit sought to defend killing Craig Whitlock 2010

Documents from the Army's Criminal Investigations Command show that military investigators later learned that the photojournalist, Max Becherer, had been with the Stryker platoon on May 5 and had recorded soldiers 'conversations.

Stryker unit sought to defend killing at heart of Afghan murder probe Craig Whitlock 2010

McNeil decided on June 12 that "the probative value of any information" that Becherer might have "does not out way [sic] the possible negative impact contacting him may have on this investigation," according to summary logs of the Army's criminal investigation.

Unit sought to defend killing Craig Whitlock 2010

But the documents also show that a higher-ranking officer in the Criminal Investigations Command, Lt.Col. Robert McNeil, ordered special agents not to contact Becherer.

Unit sought to defend killing Craig Whitlock 2010