LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were reportedly not wearing body cameras when they conducted a raid on the home of Bryan Malinowski on March 19 in Little Rock.
Senators Tom Cotton and John Boozman released a joint statement on Apr. 19, saying they were informed by the Department of Justice that the ATF agents "involved in the execution of a search warrant" at Malinowski's home did not have on body cameras.
"We will continue to press the Department to explain how this violation of its own policy could've happened and to disclose the full circumstances of this tragedy," the senators said. "Mr. Malinowski's family and the public have a right to a full accounting of the facts."
In response to the senators, Bud Cummings, the Malinowski family attorney, said it is ATF policy to wear body cameras during search warrants, and this raises more questions than it answers.
“An ATF policy dated June 2, 2022, specifically requires ATF to use body-worn cameras any time they execute a search warrant," Cummings said. "The creation of this policy was supposedly in direct response to the shooting of Ms. Breonna Taylor. It is astounding for ATF to now claim they simply ignored this clear policy. It obviously raises more questions than it answers."
Malinowski, who was a 16-year employee at the Clinton National Airport, was killed by ATF agents after a raid was conducted around 6 a.m. Agents arrived at the home with a federal search warrant and as they were serving the warrant, Malinowski allegedly shot at agents.
Agents would return fire, striking Malinowski and he would die two days later. During the shootout, an unidentified agent was shot by Malinowski but the injury was not life threatening.
The search warrant was in connection to Malinowski's purchasing of at least 150 guns in a three year span. Six of those firearms would be recovered at different crime scenes across the United State and three more were purchased by undercover ATF agents.
He was put under active surveillance in Dec. 2023 after the ATF Little Rock Field Office received a tip following Canadian officials receiving a photo of guns by a confidential informant. The serial numbers on some of the guns in the photos were traced back to Malinowski.
An affidavit said he would legally purchase the firearms, indicating on a form that the weapon was for personal use.
Malinowski would then reportedly resell those guns at gun shows. He has been accused of selling guns without proper licensure and not completing the proper steps when making a firearm sale.
The affidavit said that Malinowski also resold guns as a vendor at Conway gun show in 2023 without a dealer's license. He reportedly made several sales without asking for "any identification or paperwork."
We have reached out to ATF for a statement. We will update the article once we receive it.
To read more on the case, click here.