U.S. forces kill civilian contractor in Iraq

DETROIT – U.S. forces shot and killed a civilian contract truck driver from Michigan near an air base north of Baghdad, a lawyer for the man’s family confirmed Sunday.

Donald Tolfree, 52, of St. Charles, was a driver for KBR, a contracting subsidiary of Halliburton Co. He deployed to Iraq on Jan. 5 and was killed Feb. 5 at a checkpoint near Camp Anaconda.

Tolfree drove through a U.S. military checkpoint before realizing he was in the wrong convoy, attorney Patrick Greenfelder, who represents Tolfree’s daughter, said. Tolfree turned around and was approaching the checkpoint again when he was shot and killed, Greenfelder said.

The family is not taking legal action, but they have several questions, Greenfelder said: whether warning shots were fired, whether it was a two-way checkpoint, why Tolfree was in the wrong convoy, and whom, if anyone, he was communicating with before his death.

“The guy just cleared (the checkpoint) a couple minutes ago. What were they shooting him for?” Greenfelder said.