If I shot someone at work I wouldn't speak to my boss either. I'm legally required to tell them if there are any outstanding suspects to look for, how many shots I fired and what direction I fired. After that, I won't say anything without my lawyer. That's to protect me and my family, no matter how righteous the shooting. And Yall would be wise to do the same. So I believe that the Sheriff might not have any details from his deputies.
If the rancher was obviously dead (he can be obviously dead without being pronounced dead, that's common sense) I wouldn't perform first aid. After he's dead it's a crime scene. And it's just as likely that they'd be accused of tampering with his body to hide something. If he was obviously dead I'd not touch him.
And the county's legal team says "don't release any videos", that's probably how it'll go. The Sheriff can do whatever he wants, but (at least here) the county commissioners have the purse strings and can play him like a puppet. Especially when they're afraid of a lawsuit. Or they can pressure him to release the videos. But there's always somebody in charge of you, even the mighty Sheriff.
But we hear officers here and elsewhere state that if you are involved in an incident, you need to speak to the police. If you refuse and lawyer up, then that implies you did something wrong?????? Does not compute?????
