On Saturday, Law Enforcement Today (LET) reported that one-time DHS whistleblower Philip Haney had been found dead in a park and ride open area outside of San Francisco with a single bullet wound to the chest. I posted on this story here and here.

Rumors began to circulate that Mr. Haney’s death had been ruled a suicide by the Sheriff’s Office.

On Monday night, Amador County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement to clear up this misinformation. The cause of Mr. Haney’s death has not yet been determined.

The Sheriff’s Office has scheduled a forensic autopsy which will be conducted by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office. They have also reached out to the FBI for assistance in “analyzing documents, phone records and a lap top that were recovered from the scene and Mr. Haney’s RV.”

Their statement emphasizes that they “are currently in the beginning phase of our investigation and any final determination as to the cause and manner of Mr. Haney’s death would be extremely premature and inappropriate.”

Full statement from the Amador County Sheriff’s Office:

On February 22, 2020 the Amador County Sheriff’s Office released initial details regarding Philip Haney being found deceased in our jurisdiction. Mr. Haney was located in a park and ride open area immediately adjacent to State Highway 16 near State Highway 124. Highway 16 is a busy state highway and used as a main travel route to and from Sacramento. The location is less than 3 miles from where he was living.

Currently we have scheduled a forensic autopsy to be performed by forensic pathologists from the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office. Additionally we have reached out to our law enforcement partners in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to assist in analyzing documents, phone records and a lap top that were recovered from the scene and Mr. Haney’s RV. We are currently in possession of his vehicle, the firearm located at the scene, and his RV and we will be requesting evidence processing assistance from the FBI on those items as well.

Our investigators conducted a neighborhood canvas and interviewed his RV park neighbors on the day of the incident along with checking key areas for any video surveillance that may exist from that time. The investigators are continuing to follow-up with the overwhelming number of persons who are calling our office from throughout the United States asking for detailed information on our investigation.

Unfortunately, there was misinformation immediately being put out that we have determined Mr. Haney’s death to be a suicide. This is not the case. We are currently in the beginning phase of our investigation and any final determination as to the cause and manner of Mr. Haney’s death would be extremely premature and inappropriate. No determination will be made until all evidence is examined and analyzed.

This investigation is still active and will be ongoing. No further details will be provided at this time.