Military Imposes Gag Order in Ron Brown Controversy

By Christopher Ruddy For the Tribune-Review

LOS ANGELES - Military authorities have placed a gag order along with extraordinary restrictions on the Air Force lieutenant colonel who went public with allegations that a gunshot may have caused the death of Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown.

Early Friday, Lt. Col. Steve Cogswell of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology received written orders that he not comment to the press about matters involving Brown's death. He was told to refer all press inquiries on the subject to AFIP's public affairs office.

The instructions also informed Cogswell that he was under "command investigation," a process similar to an internal affairs inquiry by the Air Force.

Later Friday, two members of the military police arrived at Cogswell's office and escorted him to his home where they conducted a search without a warrant, an AFIP source alleged.

While on duty at an AFIP facility in Rockville, Md., Cogswell is not allowed to leave the floor on which his office is located without prior approval by his superiors. Cogswell may not even leave for lunch without permission. One military source at AFIP told the Tribune-Review that the actions taken against Cogswell were "unheard of for a ranking military officer" and likened those restrictions to house arrest.

On April 3, 1996, an Air Force jet carrying Brown and 34 others crashed into a mountainside. Brown's body was found amid the wreckage.

Cogswell, an AFIP forensic pathologist, participated in the subsequent investigation, which ruled the crash an accident.

On Wednesday, the Tribune-Review reported that Cogswell questions the official version of Brown's death in light of a .45-inch circular wound found in crown of his head. In interviews, Cogswell referred to the hole as an "apparent gunshot wound."

He said copies of x-rays and photographs, some of which were published in the Tribune-Review, support his contention that the wound should have prompted an autopsy. Cogswell has also alleged that x-rays of Brown's head have disappeared from his case file.

Instead, only an external investigation of the corpse was conducted. AFIP stands by its initial ruling that the hole was not caused by a gunshot. The Air Force actions came a day after The Associated Press released a story confirming that Cogswell had made the allegations about Brown's death. Cogswell, reached at his office Friday, declined to comment. Instead, he read from his instructions that he could not speak to the press.

Chris Kelly, spokesman for AFIP, said he could not comment because he was unaware of the new orders restricting Cogswell.

Another source at AFIP expressed astonishment at the Air Force reaction, particularly since Cogswell has made no secret of his concerns about the handling of Brown's death. In fact, he has discussed those concerns openly with professional colleagues during slide shows he has presented on mistakes in plane crash investigations. Cogswell heads up the training course unit at AFIP.

It has long been the practice, according to sources, for AFIP personnel to share and discuss matters involving previous investigations with colleagues and the public.

An AFIP spokesman was quoted this week as saying Cogswell should not have spoken about the case because it was "sensitive." Other sources said the case was never marked sensitive or secret.