U.S.

Was the Gun Pointed At Elian?

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

April 22, 2000 / 12:34 PM EDT / CBS

The scene in Lazaro Gonzalez's bedroom could hardly have been more dramatic: a federal agent wearing green riot gear, a helmet and goggles was carrying an automatic rifle when he confronted a man cradling a frightened Elian Gonzalez as they hid in a closet.

The chilling moment was captured Saturday, April 22, by an Associated Press photographer and transmitted to newspapers and broadcasters around the world. (Click here for an interactive, including photo essays and a timeline.)

CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart, after speaking with senior Justice Department and INS officials, reports that every time they see that photograph "it tears their heart out." Repeating comments Janet Reno made earlier that morning, Stewart reported "the finger of the gunman, if you notice carefully, is not on the trigger itself."

The government should have expected as much, Stewart reported during CBS News live coverage. "In hindsight, how any of us could be surprised that such a photograph would be taken. We've received warnings for a long time. The Justice Department had been in angst over this. They knew a photographer—a still or video man—would be in the house."

Stewart went on to tell CBS News Anchor Dan Rather that the operation itself was clean. There were no serious injuries. But Stewart added, "All of that, though, gets lost when, in the battle of public perception, you have a man in a helmet and goggles with a machine gun appeared to be pointed in the direction of a small child."

However, Stewart reports, the risky operation—dubbed "Operation Reunion"—did not go exactly as planned.

All along the attorney general was confronted with two tasks: to remove Elian without causing him additional trauma, and how to protect him and the agents from protestors who vowed to resist.

Originally, only a dozen or so agents were to take part, but by early morning the force had swollen to 121, including eight in the "high risk entry team" that battered in the front door and two "recovery team" agents assigned to find the boy.

Outside, a 53-member security team—some armed with automatic weapons—sealed off the home.

The plan originally called for the van with Elian to drive straight out with an escort, but when protestors mounted a feeble charge at the agents’ vehicles, agents improvised and backed out of the neighborhood with protestors in pursuit.

At a news conference in Washington, Reno was asked whether the photograph had raised the question of excessive force. "One of the beauties of television is that it shows exactly what the facts are," Reno said. "And as I understand it, if you look at it carefully, it shows that the gun was pointed to the side, and that th finger was not on the trigger."

She defended the use of force, saying that there could have been guns in the crowd, or in the house, and the priority was the safety of Elian and the federal agents.

"The safety of all was paramount. And when law enforcement goes into a situation like that, it must go in prepared for the unexpected," the attorney general said.