Two Houston Police Officers responded to a call from a group home where a mentally ill resident was acting aggressively towards his caretaker. Once there the man threatened the officers and advanced towards one of them while threatening them and waving an object that turned out to be felt tip pen. He had one officer cornered and the other officer shot him in the head. The man had lost one of his arms completely and one of his legs below the knee. Surely they could have subdued him without having to shoot him. This is really sad.

 

Story:

 

Police Fatally Shoot Mentally Ill Double Amputee In Wheelchair

Houston, you have a problem.

Normally I side with the cops. As in "don't commit the crime, run from the cops, turn to look over your shoulder making the cop think you might have a weapon, and then complain that you were shot"... but in this case I think a taser would have been more than enough to control the situation.

If the Houston Police aren't carrying tasers now, you can bet they will be soon.

"Oh...crap...my bad, dude..."

Do you know how hard it is to wash felt tip pen out of a uniform?!

Wow, I don't know much to say to hearing this one other than that they must have been very well trained.

I find it completely ridiculous that two officers, with both of their arms and legs, could not subdue a one-armed, one-legged person without having to shoot him in the head. They knew they were being dispatched to a group home because a resident was creating a disturbance and acting in a threatening manner. They had to know going in that the person was ill and probably not going to behave rationally. They should have had plenty of other non-lethal means of subduing even a compeltely able-bodied person ready to go when they entered the building. This is a completely senseless death and I can see no valid defense for the actions of the police in this instance.

I'm not happy with this outcome anymore than anyone else, but when a person pulls out an object that they represent to be a gun, you have less than a split second to make a life and death choice. It's really a no-win situation all the way around.

 

 

That said....why didn't they just deploy stop-sticks.

I'm not happy with this outcome anymore than anyone else, but when a person pulls out an object that they represent to be a gun, you have less than a split second to make a life and death choice. It's really a no-win situation all the way around.

 

 

That said....why didn't they just deploy stop-sticks.

 

He didn't represent it to be a gun. He was in a group home with no access to a gun. He did threaten to stab them...but come on, even if he had a knife-- he had one arm. He couldn't operate the wheel chair to chase them AND try to stab them at them at the same time with only one arm. Completely inexcusable.

He didn't represent it to be a gun. He was in a group home with no access to a gun. He did threaten to stab them...but come on, even if he had a knife-- he had one arm. He couldn't operate the wheel chair to chase them AND try to stab them at them at the same time with only one arm. Completely inexcusable.

I thought it was a situation where he pulled out an object and pointed it at them as if it were a gun. If that's the case, I can more easily see why they may have made this tragic mistake.

I thought it was a situation where he pulled out an object and pointed it at them as if it were a gun. If that's the case, I can more easily see why they may have made this tragic mistake.

 

That's not what article says. It says he advanced on one of the officers tried to stab him with a pen and the other officer shot him in the head.

The article said that he was trying to stab him, albeit with a pen (could have been a knife),and the partner shot him. He was refusing to show his hands and he made a stabbing motion towards the police officer after continuing to make threats after their arrival. Police are trained to meet threats with the next level not a equal or lesser level. Distance between subject and potential victim also goes into the decision...a person with a knife within 15 foot is an immediate threat and the use of deadly force is authorized. In this case he was right against an officer with his chair.

 

While tragic, with only the details from the story posted, I do not see fault with the actions of the officer as the events unfolded to him.

The article said that he was trying to stab him, albeit with a pen (could have been a knife),and the partner shot him. He was refusing to show his hands and he made a stabbing motion towards the police officer after continuing to make threats after their arrival. Police are trained to meet threats with the next level not a equal or lesser level. Distance between subject and potential victim also goes into the decision...a person with a knife within 15 foot is an immediate threat and the use of deadly force is authorized. In this case he was right against an officer with his chair.

 

While tragic, with only the details from the story posted, I do not see fault with the actions of the officer as the events unfolded to him.

 

First off, this guy was at a group home for the mentally ill. They had to have known going in that he was unstable so why weren't they prepared with non-lethal means of subduing him? He had been in that home for 18 months, it wasn't like he was suddenly going to produce a 12 gauge or a machete on them. Secondly, "show me your hands" really? HE ONLY HAD ONE ARM. If he was using that arm to advance on the officer then he couldn't have been concealing something in it. There were two officers, why not simply pull the wheelchair back from the first officer--it is on wheels. I could have understood this a little bit better if they were responding blindly to a call and the guy came charging out after them. In this case they were responding to a call from a home for the mentally ill. At best they were poorly trained and poorly prepared.

So, mentally ill people with only one arm can't kill people?

 

It's tragic, but I can't fault the police with only the minimal details presented.