There were “two stacks of hundreds, one of fifties, then twenties, fives, and tens … I never saw the money again. In his book, Phillips writes that while he was held hostage on the lifeboat, a pirate took the money out of the bag and began dividing up into piles. He said the crime scene was “contaminated.” According to Phillips’ account of the kidnapping, the money could have easily been concealed in a small bag or someone’s pockets. Weinstein said there were plenty of people who had access to the lifeboat after the shooting stopped. Weinstein said his client, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nearly 34 years, had no idea who took the money, and he didn’t think the pirates threw it overboard. Hillson declined to discuss SEAL tactics or specifics of the case but said: “The case was ultimately closed without evidence of wrongdoing.” Michael, who was the executive officer of the Boxer and among the highest-ranking Navy personnel to enter the lifeboat after Phillips had been saved, a former U.S. It’s not clear if all the SEALs who responded to the hijacking were polygraphed. As part of the investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, SEALs were polygraphed, according to former and current law enforcement and military officials who spoke under the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk about the case. “I think it was an appropriate use of force under these circumstances.” “I think it is pretty clear under the military’s rules of engagement that if the SEAL believed he still faced a threat against him he was authorized to use lethal force,” he said. In other words, they were still combatants. He said the SEALs had to make the assumption that the Somalis were armed and a continuing threat. Silliman, a professor at Duke University Law School and an expert on wartime legal doctrine, said he believes the SEALs did nothing wrong. Under the Geneva Conventions, an enemy combatant who has been injured so severely that he no longer can fight is supposed to be protected and medically treated even as he is taken into custody. “There were clearly not three shots fired,” Weinstein said. The expert estimated about 19 rounds had been fired into the bodies, Weinstein said.

Weinstein, who represented the surviving pirate later prosecuted in federal court, said his legal team had an expert examine photographs the government provided of the dead Somalis. He didn’t see the other two pirates at the other end of the lifeboat.Īttorney Philip L. But after it appeared the shooting had stopped, he said, one of the pirates closest to him was “gasping” and in a “death rattle.” The young pirate had two serious chest wounds, he said. In an interview, Phillips said he didn’t know if the SEALs fired inside the lifeboat. “They found Phillips tied up in the corner unhurt.” “Entering the life raft, they quickly and methodically re-engaged each pirate, making sure there was no more threat,” Bissonnette recalls. Former SEAL Matt Bissonnette recounted the episode in his memoir “No Easy Day.” Bissonnette was deployed aboard the adjacent USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, when the rescue took place. He quickly shot the pirates - one of whom was still alive. Seconds later, a SEAL, possibly two of them, descended the tow rope and onto the lifeboat. After a gun unexpectedly went off inside the lifeboat, the SEAL snipers opened fire. During the crisis, the Navy persuaded the pirates to let the Bainbridge tow the lifeboat and then tricked the fourth pirate into coming aboard the Bainbridge.Īs the Bainbridge reeled in the lifeboat for a better shot, the SEALs took up positions on the back of the warship and trained their sights on the three pirates. Days later, a team of SEALs parachuted into the Indian Ocean and boarded the Bainbridge. The USS Bainbridge, a destroyer that had responded to the hijacking, gave chase as the pirates headed toward the Somali coast. The pirates eventually abandoned the Maersk, jumping into a lifeboat and taking the cash and Phillips at gunpoint. In a failed attempt to get the pirates to leave, Phillips gave them $30,000 from the ship safe. Four armed Somali pirates scurried up the side of a large cargo ship, Maersk Alabama, and took the crew and Phillips hostage. The unvarnished story begins on April 8, 2009. The pirates captured Captain Richard Phillips and they fled together on the lifeboat.

The Maersk Alabama vessel was seized by Somali pirates off the coast of Somalia on April 12, 2009. The Maersk Alabama cargo ship lifeboat is seen on display at the National Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Fla., recently. Subscribe - Holiday Gift Subscriptions Sign In My Account Logout Primary Menu ☰ X

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