Massachusetts police are accused of withholding basic information about Barack Obama’s personal chef under the guise of an “ongoing investigation.”
Tafari Campbell, 45, drowned while paddle boarding with a female staffer on the Edgartown Great Pond in Martha’s Vineyard, MA on July 23.
Edgartown Great Pond backs up to the Obamas’ $12 million estate on Turkeyland Cove.
Sources tell DailyMail.com the female staffer tried to save Campbell, but she was forced to swim to shore. She went back out in a boat to try and find Campbell.
The staffer reportedly called 911 at 7:46 p.m. — minutes before sunset on July 23.
The Martha’s Vineyard police recovered Campbell’s body about 100 feet from shore in about 8 feet of water on July 24 at 10 a.m.
Since Campbell’s tragic drowning, the police have withheld even basic facts including the identity of the sole witness and the 911 caller, according to DailyMail.com.
The shroud of secrecy surrounding Campbell’s drowning is fueling conspiracy theories on social media.
There are unconfirmed reports that the woman who was paddle boarding with Campbell is Sasha Obama, the youngest daughter of Barack and Michelle Obama. Sasha and her sister, Malia, left Martha’s Vineyard the day after the drowning.
Police are citing a Public Records Law exemption that allows authorities to withhold information that could jeopardize an active investigation.
“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.”
