New probe into Tillman case

WASHINGTON -- The Army is opening a criminal investigation into the friendly-fire death of former football player Pat Tillman to determine whether negligent homicide charges should be brought against members of his Ranger unit who killed him in Afghanistan nearly two years ago, according to defense officials.

Pentagon officials notified Tillman's family Friday that a review of the case by a Defense Department inspector general had determined there was enough evidence to warrant a fresh look, after initial investigations characterized by secrecy, mishandling of evidence, and delays in reporting crucial facts about what had happened.

The inspector general's review was launched in August after the Tillman family made angry and public allegations that the Pentagon had failed to hold anyone accountable for the April 22, 2004, shooting or to fully explain its circumstances. His mother, Mary, has expressed deep frustration about what she calls a succession of ''lies" she has been told about her son's death.

The Army originally reported that Tillman was killed in a firefight with enemy forces in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, and officials heralded his heroism with a tale of how he was charging a hill against the enemy when he was shot.

Weeks later, after a nationally televised memorial service, the Army disclosed that he had been gunned down by members of his own unit who rounded a corner in a Humvee and mistook him and a coalition Afghan fighter for the enemy.

Mary Tillman said yesterday that she believes evidence of a crime has existed all along and that the family's repeated calls for a criminal investigation were ignored until now. ''The military has had every opportunity to do the right thing, and they haven't," she said. ''They knew all along that something was seriously wrong, and they just wanted to cover it up."

Patrick Tillman Sr. expressed skepticism that the new investigation will yield answers. ''I think it's another step," he said, ''but if you send investigators to reinvestigate an investigation that was falsified in the first place, what do you think you're going to get?"

Tillman was a popular National Football League player on the Arizona Cardinals who joined the military after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Colonel Joseph Curtin, an Army spokesman, said the Army would open an investigation to examine whether soldiers violated military law when they failed to identify their targets before opening fire on Tillman's position.

Although there have been several military investigations into the Tillman shooting, this will be the first criminal investigation.

''We want to do the right thing for the family," Curtin said. ''We owe it to the family. We owe them the truth."