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Massachusetts state police are covering up information about the drowning of Barack Obama’s personal chef, labeling the incident an accident but continuing to withhold information under the guise of an ‘ongoing investigation’, DailyMail.com can reveal.
It’s been 11 days since Tafari Campbell drowned in a pond bordering the former president’s estate, but authorities are rejecting requests for even basic facts including the identity of the sole witness and the 911 caller.
The state is citing a Public Records Law exemption that allows police to withhold any information that could jeopardize an active investigation.
But the head of the region’s First Amendment coalition told DailyMail.com that police are abusing that law, given they’ve already ruled out foul play.
The only matter pending is a toxicology report that could show whether Campbell had drugs in his system or suffered some sort of medical episode.
Chef Tafari Campbell’s July 23 drowning death near the Obamas’ Martha’s Vineyard estate was ruled an accident but police continue to withhold information
Campbell had been paddle boarding with a woman, another Obama staff member, when he fell off his board and drowned in Edgartown’s Great Pond on July 23
Campbell died in an unexplained accident on the pond behind the Obamas’ home. He had gone out paddle boarding on the calm water and was seen falling off the board
‘The burden is on law enforcement to show how their investigation may be jeopardized by releasing certain information,’ said Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition. ‘And they’re not doing that right now. This really flies in the face of Public Records Law.’
State police officials are making sure that other agencies involved in the response follow their lead.
Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition says police are abusing that law, given they’ve already ruled out foul play
Sources who participated in the initial multi-jurisdictional effort told DailyMail.com that state police have even armed departments with rejection letters to send to the media, which has been bombarding agencies with questions.
The Dukes County Sheriff’s Office, which fielded the original 911 call, sent DailyMail.com a cut-and-paste message Tuesday when asked for information about the call.
‘Hello. At this time, we will not be releasing any recordings or materials,’ the message read, and cited the state Public Records Law, noting it exempts the release of records that ‘would probably so prejudice the possibility of effective law enforcement that such disclosure would not be in the public interest.’
‘The exemption allows investigative officials to withhold materials that could compromise investigative efforts if disclosed,’ the letter adds.
The supervisor of communications for the sheriff’s office refused to budge when pressed by DailyMail.com.
‘Sorry, I’m trying to abide by the law,’ Maj. Susan Schofield said. ‘Obviously, we’re getting a lot of requests and we don’t like to not give out information, but we can’t.
‘State police are investigating, and we can’t release information.’
Another public safety officer involved in the initial investigation told DailyMail.com that, ‘State police sent out those templates for us to use too.
‘It’s driving me absolutely nuts because it’s making it seem like there’s something going on, when there’s not,’ the source said. ‘As far as I know, some poor guy went out on a paddle board, and he wasn’t a great swimmer and he drowned.
‘I know the optics of this look like it could be a lot more than that,’ the source continued. ‘I see what makes this a story. I know this has the recipe for a conspiracy.
‘But from what I have seen, there’s no drama to this. If you guys just had everything, you’d see there’s really nothing to this and move on. Instead, you’re left with what appears like a mystery.’
The state medical examiner’s office did the autopsy on Tafari, finding no trauma to the body or any other evidence the death was suspicious
The Edgartown Police Department logs from July 23rd, the night of the drowning, show a call at 7.46pm – the time the call was made to report Campbell’s accident – but the reason was left blank. It was also described as coming from Wilson’s Landing, which is 2 miles from the Obama residence
Tafari knew how to swim as evidenced by a video he’d posted on social media of himself swimming laps
Conspiracy theorists have been happy to exploit the vacuum on social media.
The Associated Press devoted an article to shooting down some of the baseless claims circulating, including a popular Instagram video asserting that Campbell was writing a tell-all book on the Obamas when he was ‘found with head trauma in 3 to 4 feet of water on the Obama estate.’
The video claims that nobody called 911 for hours until Campbell washed up on shore and that ‘Obama’s own personal coroner’ was flown from Washington, D.C. to perform the autopsy, the AP reported.
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State police described it as an accident, reporting that Campbell fell off the board and that the other paddle boarder tried to help but could not reach him in time
The AP pointed out that there’s no indication the former White House sous chef was writing a book.
State police described it as an accident, reporting that Campbell fell off the board and that the other paddle boarder called 911 shortly afterward. The state medical examiner’s office did the autopsy, finding no trauma to the body or any other evidence the death was suspicious, police added.
That’s left many wondering why authorities are still holding back.
‘I’m not sure what they’re waiting for,’ one local public safety source told DailyMail.com. ‘I don’t know if it’s just the toxicology.
‘We’re supposed to be transparent,’ the source griped. ‘This total drama to this, not giving out names, it’s kind of horsesh*t. It’s just dragging this out unnecessarily.
‘What are we at, 10 days now? It’s a drowning. It’s unfortunate. In a coastal community, we’ve had a number of those over the years.’
Police declared early on that Campbell’s death was an accident, stating the 45-year-old was out with another paddle boarder who tried to save him. The person then summoned help from someone who called 911, police said. DailyMail.com revealed that the other paddle boarder is a woman.
But authorities have refused to identify her or the 911 caller who is believed to be a member of Obama’s Secret Service detail.
Meanwhile, Martha’s Vineyard police even left the reason for the emergency call blank in official logs from the night of the incident. The reason for every other call that night is given.
The initial call came in at 7.46pm on Sunday July 23, when police and fire agencies responded to the report that Campbell, an Obama employee who lives in Virginia, had fallen off his paddle board, briefly struggled to stay afloat and then went under.
State police reported that there was another paddle boarder on the pond with Campbell who saw him drown. They wouldn’t even release the gender of the witness, or the 911 caller.
Barack Obama was seen hitting the links at the Vineyard Golf Club days after the loss of his personal chef while Michelle, 59, was seen hitting the tennis courts
Sasha, 22, and Malia, 25, were spotted leaving Martha’s Vineyard two days after the death of the family’s private chef
Sources revealed to DailyMail.com that the female paddle boarder spoke with police at the scene. They described her as devastated but also apparently clear-headed and sober.
The multi-agency search continued into the night, with fire companies from across the island descending on Edgartown’s Great Pond with boats and divers, along with Massachusetts state police, the Dukes County Sheriff’s Department and Coast Guard.
The witness directed rescuers to one area where Campbell was thought to have gone under.
Crews diligently searched the location that night but did not find a body. Authorities also searched properties around the pond, in hopes Campbell had possibly made it to shore.
Campbell was located around 10am the next morning by Massachusetts Environmental Police officers deploying side-scan sonar from a boat.
Participants in the recovery described the somber scene as the body was hoisted by divers and lifted on to a fire boat, placed in a bag and covered with a tarp.
Campbell’s lifeless body was taken to Wilson’s Landing, the public launch that served as the command post, where a Secret Service agent identified the body as the missing chef, sources said.
At the time of the drowning, Barack and Michelle Obama were out of the house.
It’s unclear if the Obama daughters, Sasha, 25, and Malia, 22 – who were also on the island – were at home, or out with friends or their parents.
Several participants in the search said they did not see the Obamas at the scene when the body was recovered but did notice several Secret Service agents who were described as communicative and helpful.
The water was just eight feet deep where Campbell was found. Police said he was not wearing a life preserver and was not leashed to his board.
He did however know how to swim, as evidenced by a video he’d posted on social media of himself swimming laps.
Sasha and Malia Obama flew from the island on Tuesday last week, while the former president and First Lady, were seen golfing and playing tennis the following Friday.
