The case
He was shot by police—then convicted of assaulting an officer.
At a meeting police arranged under the pretense of returning seized equipment, troopers instead moved to arrest Weinhaus. Officers said he reached for a holstered firearm and ignored commands; Weinhaus denied drawing it. A watch camera captured the encounter, but the parties dispute what its audio and images establish. The defense describes the firearm as secured inside a military-style parachutist holster with a protective flap—a design it says required two hands to release and draw. Supporters argue that this mechanism, considered with the recording, is incompatible with the officers’ account of a rapid attempted draw. A jury nevertheless convicted him. Years later, records from the primary trooper’s employment litigation disclosed PTSD, medication use, misconduct concerns, failed fitness evaluations, and termination.
Weinhaus was convicted of first-degree assault, armed criminal action, and drug possession. His concurrent sentences include two 30-year terms. State and federal courts have repeatedly denied post-conviction relief.
At trial, troopers testified that Weinhaus manipulated and opened the holster flap, placed his hand on the gun, continued drawing despite commands, and presented an imminent threat. The appellate court reviewed the evidence in the light most favorable to that verdict.
Supporters say the parachutist holster could not be opened and the firearm drawn with one hand, while the recording shows the encounter from Weinhaus’s watch. They argue this physical constraint, eyewitness and recording evidence, and undisclosed information about the primary trooper’s fitness and credibility require a hearing or new trial.
Editorial note: This is defense-centered advocacy. The holster’s two-hand operation is attributed to Ammon Bundy’s EotS presentation and the defense campaign; the published appellate opinion records the troopers’ competing testimony that Weinhaus manipulated the flap and reached for the gun. The verdict, appellate history, police account, defense allegations, and later-disclosed records are labeled separately.