William Cooper Update
Sierra Times 11.06.01
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Details are still sketchy on what caused the Cooper shootout on November 5, 2001, but a
fax sent from the Apache County Sheriff's office sheds some more light on the subject.
William Cooper was fatally wounded during a late night gunfight. Contrary to what was
reported earlier, it was not a SWAT raid, but a simple confrontation between police and
Cooper. One Apache County deputy, Robert Martinez was critically wounded in the
exchange. Here's what we know so far:
According to the Sheriff's report, several deputies were positioned outside the Cooper
residence to serve a warrant for Aggravated Assault and two counts of endangerment.
Cooper had stated numerous times in the past that he would not surrender to law
enforcement via his website and shortwave radio. Obviously, law enforcement took him
seriously. The showdown began at approximately 12:15 pm local time.
After leaving his residence in his vehicle, the report states that Cooper confronted
plain clothed deputies a short distance away. "As Cooper drove back to his residence,
deputies attempted to stop him using a fully marked patrol vehicle to block the
driveway. Cooper refused to stop or comply with verbal orders by the deputies",
according to the report.
Cooper then drove around the patrol car to evade the arrest, and the report stated that
he tried to run over one of the deputies en route back to his residence. Cooper was then
followed a short distance to his residence where this time he was confronted by
uniformed deputies. "After refusing once again to comply with the deputies orders,
Cooper exited his vehicle and began running toward the house, firing shots with a
handgun toward the deputies", the report said. No where in the report did it mention
that Cooper only had one leg - the other lost in combat long ago. Cooper died on the
scene.
When Deputy Martinez took a head shot, officers returned fire, the report said.
According to the Sheriff's office, "the surgery on Martinez went well" , but the
condition is still critical. There was a positive history written up about Martinez in
the report, but nothing positive about Cooper, of course.
Cooper had made it known that he would take action against law enforcement from years
back stating, "trespassers will be shot on discovery." He also denied violating any laws
during that period as well. Cooper has a history of harassing and threatening local
residents with deadly force, according to the report. He was recently charge with
aggravated assault and endangerment, as well as wanted by the U.S. Marshall's Service on
unrelated felony charges. Cooper had spent the last month challenging the government's
claims about what caused the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11.
Most who knew of Cooper all state that he was a hard man to get along with - if at all.
His demeanor and attitude was "unfriendly" at best. Although state-sponsored media
called Cooper a "national militia leader", no one has yet to come forward who was under
his command, nor has anyone to this point come forward to claim his 'militia rank'. None
of those who knew Cooper and spoke to Sierra Times wanted to go on the record, but the
best statement was, "he was a son-of a #####, but he was our son-of-a #####". The new
Patriot Act of 2001 has many wondering if the Cooper take down was just the beginning in
silencing the voices on opposition in the Country. "Are they just starting in
alphabetical order?" one person asked. Cooper was best known for being the first to
provide evidence of explosives being found inside the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City
on April 19, 1995, including the type of explosive used.
According to his webmaster, "It appears at this time to be totally unrelated to the
disputes he had with the federal government." There were no federal agents involved with
the gunfight.
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