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According to police accounts and the Garcetti Report, after firing the two shots the gunman ran to Stairwell #1, descended seven flights of stairs and then encountered LAPD Officer Thomas Baker at the base of the stairs on the fifth floor. The gunman then struggled physically with Baker, wrestled him to the floor, retrieved Baker's 9mm automatic pistol and shot the officer in the head with one shot. The gunman then fled across the fifth floor to Stairwell #2.

CITIZENS FOR TRUTH ANALYSIS: The most impressive aspect of the official story of the fifth floor encounter is that it shows a great deal of imagination. The true extent of the creative powers of the architects of this version can only be appreciated when you realize how little they had to work with. No blood, hair or fiber evidence conclusively ties either man to the other. While certain fibers were found on Hidell's pants that are consistent with those of Baker's gun belt, those fibers are common to many belts and other leather items, and no forensic expert witness at a trial would ever have tried to claim that those leather fibers amounted to conclusive evidence of a connection between Baker and Hidell.

It is not unprecedented that two men could fight, and one of them shoot the other, and no significant hair, blood or fiber evidence ties the two together. There are historical cases of crimes where it was later known to a near-certainty that two people struggled, but no forensic evidence linked them. Detectives commonly say that when a suspect travels through an area or encounters another person, he "takes something with him and leaves something behind," but this phrase is more of a guideline than a hard-and-fast rule. Still, it must be a front-and-center fact when evaluating the official version that virtually nothing in terms of physical evidence backs up the wrestling-match-followed-by-shooting scenario.

Lacking such customary luxuries as physical evidence--as well as eyewitness accounts, since both Baker and Hidell died without making statements--the police and D.A. are forced to rely purely on speculation about this event on the fifth floor of the Park Plaza Hotel. Using circular logic, the police conclude that because Baker was killed, somebody had to kill him. And because Hidell was the only person known to have been fleeing the police, it must have been Hidell who killed him. Who else but the assassin of Bill Gates would have been motivated to commit the crime? And since Baker was shot with his own weapon--well, that must mean that Hidell dropped the Mauser he was carrying, impulsively chose to engage in some wrestling, and then changed his mind and decided he wanted to shoot Baker anyway and so grabbed Baker's gun. Through all of this, Baker apparently offered little resistance, despite being roughly the same size as Hidell and possessing a sidearm.

It is entirely possible that Officer Baker encountered someone other than Hidell in the fifth floor stairwell. But Citizens for Truth, employing Occam's Razor ("the simplest explanation is the most likely"), believes that the least complicated explanation for Baker's death is that he shot himself. It is technically against written LAPD policy for an officer to run with his weapon drawn, but it is known to happen, especially when an officer is alone and afraid of encountering an armed suspect. It is also not unknown for an officer to shoot himself with his own weapon. (Some examples.) It is also not unknown for police departments to attempt to cover up embarrassing incidents such as these.

Additionally, it doesn't make sense that Hidell would choose Stairwell #1 for his exit. Stairwell #1 lets out in the lobby of the Park Plaza. Any assassin with a planned escape route would choose the stairwell that was least noticeable and led to a low-profile exit (and the police do claim Hidell eventually tried to make his escape through the basement). Stairwell #2 fits every requirement--it is hard to notice from the lobby, and it also goes all the way down to the basement, a deserted area of the hotel with an extremely low-profile outlet to 6th Street.

Citizens for Truth has concluded that one explanation of Baker's death is the simplest and most believable: Baker--excited, fearing an encounter with the armed assassin of Bill Gates--was running with his gun drawn, tripped on a step, and as he fell he caused his gun to discharge, sending a bullet into his head. Unusual? Yes. In fact, it qualifies as a freak accident. But it better explains what happened in the fifth-floor stairwell than the LAPD's tortured logic does.