Kidnapping suspect dies after chase

11-6-2012 Michigan:

A suspect in a kidnapping and sexual assault died after crashing during a police chase Tuesday, according to Michigan State Police at the Mt. Pleasant Post.

The dead man is identified as Robert Lee Mongar of Cadillac.

According to a statement from troopers, Mongar reportedly physically and sexually assaulted a female acquaintance in Wexford County, then tied her up, put her in her vehicle and drove south.

She managed to escape and run into a gas station near Stanwood when Mongar stopped for fuel. The victim was still restrained, but store employees helped her.

Mongar sped off, but a state trooper spotted the vehicle, which did not stop. Instead, he fled into deeply forested Newaygo County.

The chase led down a dirt road, and troopers said Mongar drove the car off the road where the road curved, and hit a large stand of mature trees. There was no indication the driver tried to brake or make the turn, troopers said.

Mongar was pronounced dead at the scene. There was no immediate word on the condition of the victim. ..Source.. by Morning Sun

Coroner: Man who died after Taser incident had health issues

3-23-2011 Nevada:

A 44-year-old man who died after Las Vegas police shocked him with a Taser "several" times in December had cocaine and alcohol in his system, the Clark County coroner's office said Wednesday.

Las Vegan Anthony Jones died from cocaine and ethanol intoxication, the coroner's office said. But other factors contributed to his death, including "police restraining procedures" and an enlarged heart from obesity and mild hypertension, the coroner found.

Assistant Coroner John Fudenberg said that although science has not determined whether Taser guns kill, the use of the less-lethal weapon could have been a factor in Jones' death.

"It's safe to say that it could have possibly contributed to his death," Fudenberg said.

The coroner ruled Jones' death a homicide, meaning only that Jones died as the result of actions of others.

ROUTINE TRAFFIC STOP

Jones died in the early morning hours of Dec. 11. His confrontation with police began with a routine traffic stop less than a mile from his home and ended with a struggle with officers who used a Taser to subdue him.

The incident began when Jones' 1993 Lexus was stopped at about 1 a.m. in the 1000 block of West Lake Mead Boulevard, near Martin Luther King Boulevard. Police have not said what prompted the stop.

Police said Jones ran north across Lake Mead and jumped a wall into the backyard of an abandoned house in the 1000 block of Hart Avenue, about two-tenths of a mile from his car. When police caught up to him, he aggressively resisted them, and officers used a Taser "several times," according to police. The department has not said how many times Jones was shocked.

Jones was pronounced dead at Valley Hospital Medical Center.

The officers involved were Mark Hatten, who has been with the agency since January 2007, and Timothy English, who was hired in June 2008.

Hatten and English were placed on routine paid administrative leave after their encounter with Jones, but police spokesman Jacinto Rivera said they are back at work in positions in which they do not have "citizen contact." Their return to regular duty depends on the outcome of a coroner's inquest that has yet to be scheduled, he said.

CRIMINAL RECORD

Jones spent most of his adult life in prison, starting with a sexual assault conviction in 1982 when he was 16. He had several other offenses since then, prison records indicate.

On Aug. 25, Henderson resident Eduardo Hernandez-Lopez, 21, died after he was shot with a Taser by the Nevada Highway Patrol.

According to the Nevada Department of Public Safety, troopers were alerted to an accident on U.S. Highway 95 involving an individual fighting others there.

When officers arrived, they had an altercation with Hernandez-Lopez, whom they described as an "irate individual." During the altercation the man was shot with a Taser, and troopers later noticed he was not breathing. The coroner's office listed his death as "cardiopulmonary arrest during varied restraining procedures" and a homicide. The inquest is pending.

A Taser delivers 50,000 volts of electricity, which incapacitates the body.

A 2008 study by Amnesty International concluded that Las Vegas led U.S. cities in deaths involving law enforcement use of Tasers. The study found that between June 2001 and August 2008, seven people died after Tasers were used on them.

Six of the deaths involved Las Vegas officers, who began using Tasers in 2004. ..Source.. by Antonio Planas

Sheriff: Suspect killed after false sex assault report

9-7-2012 South Carolina:

A man who was killed in an altercation with deputies was the subject of a false police report that led to the confrontation, according to a release from the Greenville County Sheriff's Office.

A woman, later identified as 21-year-old Sabrina Michelle Smith, reported on Aug. 13 that she had been sexually assaulted by Anthony Lee Lamboy. When deputies arrived at the Red Roof Inn on Laurens Road, Smith gave them a description of Lamboy, and three deputies confronted him in the parking lot.

Deputies said a background check found that Lamboy had outstanding warrants from Greenwood County for resisting arrest with a deadly weapon and two charges of malicious injury to property.

The release said after deputies told Lamboy he was being placed under arrest, he began to struggle with them.

Sheriff Steve Loftis said, "One deputy had the Taser out. The suspect was so violently resisting that he knocked the Taser out of the deputy's hand. About that time, the suspect grabbed the deputy's gun that was still in his holster."

The release said that Master Deputy Brandon Lackey and Lamboy fell to the ground during the struggle, and Lamboy was able to pull the trigger of Lackey's weapon that was still in its holster, the release said. The round hit Lackey in the upper thigh and exited through the back of his leg.

The other two deputies then fired at Lamboy, killing him. The release said one deputy fired five shots and the other fired one.

One of the deputies had a tourniquet in his pocket and was able to help stop Lackey's blood loss.

Loftis said, "According to the surgeon, (the tourniquet) saved the deputy's life because there was an extreme loss of blood."

The release said that investigators determined that Lamboy had not sexually assaulted Smith. She was arrested on Aug. 16 and charged with filing a false police report. She has since been released on a $5,000 bond. ..Source.. by WISTV.com

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SC woman charged with false report in shooting

A Greenville County woman has been charged with filing a false report about a sexual assault in an incident involving two sheriff’s deputies who shot and killed a man at a motel last month.

Sheriff Steve Loftis says two deputies shot and killed 26-year-old Anthony Lee Lamboy of Greenville during a scuffle over a deputy’s gun on Aug. 13. Lamboy died at the scene.

Twenty-one-year-old Sabrina Michelle Smith of Taylors has been charged with filing a false report.

Deputies responding to the complaint scuffled with Lamboy, who was able to fire an officer’s gun in the holster, wounding him in the leg. Two other officers then shot Lamboy, killing him.

Loftis says the officers followed proper procedure and have been returned to regular duty. ..Source.. by Post and Courier

Man killed by deputies was 26-year-old Greenville man

8-14-2012 South Carolina:

The Greenville County Coroner's Office has identified the man shot and killed by sheriff's deputies at the Red Roof Inn as 26-year-old Anthony Lee Lamboy of Greenville.

Kent Dill, a Greenville County deputy coroner, said Lamboy was pronounced dead at 1:05 p.m. Monday. Authorities said he was shot during a struggle with deputies trying to arrest him at the inn on Laurens Road.

An autopsy was being performed this morning, Dill said.

After receiving a report of a sexual assault Monday, three deputies responded to the inn shortly before 1 p.m., authorities said.

They said a woman gave officers a suspect’s description. The suspect was spotted shortly afterward, authorities said.

In talking to the suspect, the officers conducted a background check and discovered an outstanding warrant, Sheriff Steve Loftis told reporters.

A struggled ensued as deputies tried to make an arrest and the suspect grabbed one deputy’s gun, still in the holster, Loftis said. The gun discharged, striking the deputy, and the two other deputies drew their weapons and shot the suspect, Loftis said. ..Source.. by Staff report

City police ID man shot by officer in Medfield

8-1-2012 Maryland:

Police have identified the man fatally shot by police after officers responded to a domestic disturbance in Medfield on Tuesday afternoon.

Jonathan Blankenship, 40, was shot at least once and pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Anthony Guglielmi, the police department's chief spokesman, said an officer responding to a domestic call in the 1400 block of N. Weldon Pl. got into a struggle with Blankenship, and officers who came to his aid fired at least once.

Blankenship has a prior record including a second-degree assault conviction in Harford County for shoving his then-wife's sister, and he initially received 10 years in prison with five years suspended in District Court. Prosecutors said he appealed the case to Circuit Court, where the victim declined to testify, resulting in a sentence of 99 days.

In 1990, Blankenship was convicted of second-degree rape in Anne Arundel County and received 10 years in prison, records show. He was not required to register as a sex offender, however, because the conviction pre-dated the state's sex offender registry.

City police have shot eight people this year, seven fatally. That's two more than were killed in police shootings all of last year.

The officer involved in the shooting is expected to be identified Thursday, per the department's policy of allowing two days to pass before identifying officers involved in shootings. ..Source.. by Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun

Sheriff says 19-year-old shot by Redding police had criminal past

6-26-2012 California:

Officers remain on paid leave as details emerge

The 19-year-old man who was shot and killed by Redding police last week had an extensive criminal background, Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said Monday.

Scott Joseph Deen's record included resisting arrest, burglary, drug charges and a sexual assault warrant in Montana.

But Deen was not on parole or probation when he was shot, Bosenko said at an afternoon news conference called to release the man's identity.

Preliminary autopsy results show Deen died from a gunshot wound to the chest after a "life-and-death" struggle with four police officers in the area of Canyon and Valley View roads in south Redding early Friday, Bosenko said.

Bosenko also revealed that two shots were fired during the struggle, and only one hit Deen.

"According to witnesses, Deen's struggle with the officers was extremely violent, placing the officers' lives in harm's way," Bosenko said.

Investigators believe Deen and two other men were siphoning gasoline from cars parked in the neighborhood off Highway 273 near Win-River Casino.

Officers used a stun gun at least twice on Deen after he came at them with a knife, Bosenko said.

Not fazed by the stun gun, Deen tried to stab an officer with a knife that was attached to his hand with an elastic bandage before a police supervisor fired two rounds, striking Deen once, Bosenko said.

Deen then ran away. Officers found him about 700 feet from where he was shot. He collapsed when he was caught and died after CPR was unsuccessful, Bosenko said.

Although the sheriff's office on Friday reported three Redding officers were at the shooting scene, Bosenko said Monday there actually were four.

Redding Police Chief Robert Paoletti said he will wait until next week after the investigation and interviews are expected to be completed to release the names of the officers involved. He did say they had a combined 35 years of experience on the force.

"So we are talking about very tenured officers that were involved in a very difficult situation," Paoletti said.

The officers are doing well and are handling "the gravity of the situation like true professionals," Paoletti said.

All the officers are on routine paid administrative leave during the investigation.

Bosenko declined to release the names of the other two suspects because of the ongoing investigation. Both men live in Shasta County and one had a warrant for failure to complete a sheriff's work program, authorities said.

Deen had moved to Montana from Shasta County but recently had returned to the area for unknown reasons, Bosenko said. He also alleged Deen was a member of a local gang, but would not identify the gang.

Bosenko also would not elaborate on Deen's criminal background, including the Montana arrest warrant, saying he didn't want to compromise the investigation.

Police were called at 3:16 a.m. Friday to the area of Canyon and Valley View after a newspaper delivery driver called emergency dispatchers to report suspicious men in the neighborhood.

When officers arrived, they found a man who had a warrant for his arrest. Officers, however, believed that the man may not have been the one they had received the call about, Bosenko said.

They then located two other men in the area who police said were trying to siphon gas. One of the men cooperated with police and was handcuffed, but Deen did not obey police commands, Bosenko said.

"The officers also suspected the two suspects may have been under the influence of unknown drugs," Bosenko said.

Officers found a methamphetamine pipe on Deen after he was shot, Bosenko said.

The sheriff's office is investigating the shooting under a local agreement that outside law enforcement agencies will investigate each other's fatal encounters. Had a deputy pulled the trigger, for example, Redding police would investigate the shooting.

This is the seventh officer-involved shooting in Shasta County since 2011. The first six were ruled justified or accidental.

Only the cases involving James Thomas Jobe, Kenneth Ray Wilson and Jose Venavides were fatal.

Jobe was shot in late October on the shoulder of Interstate 5 in Redding after grappling with a sheriff's deputy.

Wilson was shot at least 16 times on South Market Street in early August after firing at officers who were chasing him.

Venavides was shot in the head in March 2011 by Redding police after he shot an officer during a traffic stop on South Market Street. ..Source.. by David Benda

Man Shot, Killed By State Trooper During Struggle

4-23-2012 Arkansas:

A Washington County man was shot by a state trooper near Alma Saturday night during a struggle between the trooper and the suspect, authorities said.

Christopher Wayne Snyder, 28, of Winslow was shot and killed by trooper Michael Bowman of the Arkansas State Police after Snyder attempted to overpower Bowman during a struggle, according to a news release issued by Bill Sadler, public information officer for Arkansas State Police.

Bowman, Sadler stated, was on patrol near Alma when he pulled over a speeding vehicle at around 11:30 p.m. Saturday. The speeder, later identified as Snyder, stopped in a driveway along the 7500 block of U.S. 71, according to the news release.

“The violator … exited the vehicle and fled from trooper Bowman,” Sadler stated. “A foot chase covering nearly one-quarter mile ensued before ending in the backyard of an abandoned mobile home.”

Snyder refused to comply with Bowman’s orders, and as Bowman attempted to place handcuffs on Snyder, a fight began and Snyder started to choke Bowman, the news release states.

“As Snyder moved on top of trooper Bowman, the trooper was able to reach his handgun and fire the weapon, striking Snyder, who was pronounced dead at the scene,” Sadler stated.

Bowman was examined and released from a nearby hospital. He was placed on paid administrative leave pending the results of an investigation, which will be reviewed by Crawford County Prosecuting Attorney Marc McCune, according to the news release.

Sadler said at this time he had no further information to release. ..Source.. by Hicham Raache

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Slain Sex Offender History Shows Failure To Register

4-23-2012 Arkansas:

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ark. -- Christopher Wayne Snyder was shot by Arkansas State Police Trooper Michael Bowman Sunday, April 22. But Snyder's history with law enforcement reaches back to 2007.

Snyder is listed as a level 3 sex offender on Arkansas's Sex Offender online registry.

According to arrest reports from Washington County Sheriff's office, Snyder was arrested in 2007 for driving on a suspended or revoked license.

In 2008, Snyder was arrested for failure to register as a sex offender. Court documents state Snyder was convicted in Oregon for sexual assault with a minor.

Then in June 2010, he was arrested for possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Snyder's family told 40/29 News he was staying with his girlfriend in Crawford County, but the Crawford County Sheriff said they had no record of Snyder registering with his department.

Trooper Michael Bowman is on administrative leave as the investigation into Snyder's death continues. ..Source.. by 4029TV.com

Police: Man fatally shot by police was in possession of drugs, had more than 30 previous arrests

4-12-2012 Texas:

A man fatally shot by an Austin police officer one week ago today had more than 30 prior arrests and was in possession of cocaine the night of the shooting, Austin police officials said Thursday.

Ahmede Jabbar Bradley, 35, had been arrested on charges including driver’s license offenses, evading, robbery, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping, assistant chief Sean Mannix said.

Police have said Bradley fought with officer Eric Copeland for about 2 minutes after a brief foot chase about 7 p.m. near Manor Road and 51st Street.

During the fight, Bradley tried to choke Copeland with the cord of his radio, police have said. Evidence shows Bradley was reaching for Copeland’s weapon as well, Mannix said.

“Mr. Bradley was attempting to disarm him of his weapon,” Mannix said.

Copeland eventually gained control of his weapon and fired at Bradley three times, striking him in the chest area, Mannix said. All three shots were consistent with being fired in a face-to-face confrontation, he added.

Police released two 911 calls today in which witnesses said they could see the suspect struggling with the officer and were concerned the officer needed help.

Listen to the 911 calls here and here.

“Should I go help him?” a man asked a 911 dispatcher as he watched the struggle.

Mannix said the calls alone demonstrate that the officer was in a bad situation.

“It’s very unusual for someone to call 911 when a police officer is on the scene,” Mannix said. “Both callers believe the officer was being disarmed.”

Bradley was found in possession of more than 1 ounce of cocaine and $1,700 in cash, Mannix said.

Mannix said the officer pulled Bradley over about 6:40 p.m. for playing loud music. Copeland smelled marijuana, and as he tried to search the vehicle Bradley fled on foot, he said.

Austin police chief Art Acevedo has said the officer tried to use his Taser stun gun during the chase, but that “one of the prongs did not take.”

Following the shooting, officers attempted CPR, but Bradley died at the scene about 7 p.m., officials have said.

Copeland, who has been with the Police Department since September 2009 , was placed on administrative leave with pay, pending a review of the incident and a chemical and psychological evaluation, officials have said. ..Source.. by Claudia Grisales

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APD officer shoots, kills suspect

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Austin police officer Thursday night shot and killed a man officials said ran from a traffic stop and then began fighting with the officer in the 5200 block of Overbrook , near Manor Road in East Austin.

According to Assistant Chief David Carter, a patrol officer was trying to stop a vehicle in the 6000 block of 51st Street around 6:40 p.m. for a routine traffic stop.

When the officer approached the vehicle, the driver took off and headed north on to Overbrook Drive where he dumped his vehicle and took off on foot.

Police said the suspect, identified as Ahmede Jabbar Bradley, 37, tried to jump a fence but the officer caught up with him and a scuffle ensued. The suspect managed to get away from the officer but the officer caught up to him, attempted to use his stun gun, but it didn't work.

During a news briefing at Police Headquarters on Friday afternoon, Police Chief Art Acevedo said Police Officer Eric Copland and the suspect engaged in "a violent struggle for the officer's firearm." He said that Copland grabbed the officer's microphone cord and wrapped it around his neck. Acevedo said they have photos of the marks on Copeland's neck. He also said the officer broke a finger in the struggle.

Finally, the officer managed to fire "several shots were fired" by the officer.

Bradley died at the scene. When back-up officers arrived at the scene, they tried to do CPR but to no avail.

The officer was transported to the hospital for treatment of his injuries. He has been with the department for 1 1/2 years.

Police said the patrol vehicle's dashboard camera was on and recording.

"We've captured the entire incident in terms of the audio, in terms of the video. You can see the stop, you can see all those things and we'll look at that tape carefully to find out what's going on," said Carter.

Acevedo said that nearly all of the events were captured either on patrol car video or described in recorded phone calls to police. He also said several civilian well-position witnesses have also provided accounts to police.

No other individuals were involved.

Copland was placed on paid leave pending an investigation, which is standard procedure.

While authorities were at the scene gathering information, a large crowd of residents and onlookers started forming. While the crowd has remained relatively calm, extra officers were called in to maintain crowd control.

A witness to the events spoke out on Friday. Greg Anderson said he owns the home and yard where the suspect was shot and died.

" I was sitting up watching TV, me and my little girl," said Anderson, "and next thing I know we heard three gunshots -- come outside and look through the window, and there was cops surrounding this -- well, one cop [was] chasing this one guy. Next thing I know he was in my yard. I heard gunshots and came outside. They were trying to give him CPR and that's when he passed away."

Friday, the family of the suspect placed flowers in the yard where he died. ..Source.. by Calily Bien, Shannon Wolfson, Josh Hinkle

Wichita police give details of weekend shooting involving officer

4-4-2012 Kansas:

At first, when the two police officers showed up at his door at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning, Troy Lanning Sr. thought they just wanted help tracking down Troy Jr., who had failed to report to state officers supervising him after his release from prison. So he got names and numbers out of his home phone for them, told them the names of his son’s friends. But then he asked, “So you have him in custody?”

They said no, and suggested he sit down. And when he froze in place for a moment, they asked him again.

Police on Monday revealed that they killed 24-year-old Troy Lanning Jr. on Sunday after Lanning, after a car chase, put his hand in a bag of belongings and appeared to aim it toward the officer in a threatening manner.

The officer confronted him in a backyard in south Wichita after Lanning and three other people led police on a seven-minute high-speed chase from an area where a drive-by shooting had been reported. But no gun was found in the bag Lanning was carrying, or in the stolen vehicle he rode in during the chase.

And Lanning Sr., and several of his son’s friends, gathered on Monday afternoon and said there was no way anybody would have any good reason to shoot him. Lanning Sr. said he has already talked with a lawyer and is considering whether to sue the Wichita Police Department for his son’s death. He said he believes officers could have used a Taser on his son, or sent a K-9 unit dog to run him down, rather than shoot him.

Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz described how the confrontation happened:

At 11:56 p.m. on Saturday, police dispatchers sent officers to a report of a drive-by shooting in the 4600 block of South Charles, south of I-235 and McArthur. Dispatchers told the officers to look for a white vehicle.

An officer driving into the area, going eastbound on 45th Street South, saw a white vehicle pass him while going the other direction. The officer turned around, and saw it speed away. The driver refused to stop after the officer turned on his lights and sirens.

The chase lasted seven minutes, Stolz said, and ended when the white vehicle drove up over a curb at 35th and Everett, damaging a wheel. Witnesses and the officer saw four people bail out of the vehicle, three men and a woman. The officer chased one of the men, Lanning, yelling at him to stop. Lanning climbed over a privacy fence; the officer followed.

The officer, a nine-year veteran of the Police Department, confronted Lanning in a backyard, and told him to stop reaching into a bag he was carrying. Lanning continued going through the bag, and at one point the officer thought Lanning raised the bag up in a threatening manner. The officer fired several shots at Lanning, hitting him.

Other officers from the Police Department, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Highway Patrol blocked off streets and “locked down about eight or ten blocks of the neighborhood,” Stolz said. They caught one other man they think was in the white vehicle.

Lanning was taken to Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators found no weapon, either in Lanning’s bag of belongings or in the white vehicle he was riding in.

Stolz said he thinks Lanning tried to evade police because a records check on him showed that he was an absconder from the Kansas Department of Corrections, and also had an outstanding warrant in Sedgwick County for failing to register as an offender.

In the white vehicle, investigators found items stolen a few hours earlier during a burglary in the 2600 block of West Newell. The vehicle itself was stolen sometime before the chase.

Lanning Sr. said his son had a criminal history, and that it’s possible he might have been involved in a burglary. His son had served time for a conviction as a juvenile for taking indecent liberties with a child. That case, though it required his son to register with the state as a sex offender, was what Lanning Sr. called a “Romeo and Juliet” situation, meaning that there was consent. But under the law, having had sex with a female younger than 14, his son did three years in jail in a juvenile facility in Topeka, he said.

There were later charges, the father said, for burglary and theft, and as police pointed out on Monday, his son was wanted as an absconder from the state prison system. Lanning Sr. said his son failed to register as a sex offender as required, and failed to take several classes requires of him during his probationary period. “He did a lot of things he shouldn’t have done, and there were times when you couldn’t tell Troy anything,” Lanning Sr. said.

Still, the father and the son’s friends said, there was no good reason to shoot him to death. “I think it was a wrongful shooting,” Lanning Sr. said. He said his son had no history of violence, and can’t imagine why the officer who killed his son thought that his son was trying to threaten him with a bag that he believes contained nothing more than clothes and shampoo.

Victoria Harper, a sometime girlfriend of Troy Lanning Jr., said Troy was “a big baby, more sensitive and needy than most females.” She said he was a good and decent person, and “a wimp” rather than anyone violent. “I knew him for 14 years, have loved him that whole time, and he never once raised his voice at me.”

She and several of Lanning Jr.’s friends also said they trusted him to babysit their small children, even though he’d served time for indecent liberties. He would never have harmed any children, they said.

But Stolz said an initial look at the shooting indicates to him that the officer acted properly in shooting the man.

“After a confrontation like this, we sometimes wonder why people do the things they do,” Stolz said. He declined to say what was in the bag that the man kept rummaging in as the officer told him to drop it; he said only that it contained “personal items.”

“All we can expect from our officers is reasonable behavior,” Stolz said. He said the officer was sent to the scene of a shooting, at night, a dangerous situation. “It’s reasonable to expect to confront a weapon in a situation like that,” he said. “The vehicle ran, which is not reasonable; they led the officer on a seven-minute chase, not reasonable; and after they wrecked, they ran, which is not reasonable. And then the man refused repeated verbal commands to stop running.”

“The officer was doing the job he was sent to do,” Stolz said. “It appears we have policy and procedure properly followed here.”

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation will handle the investigation of the shooting, and turn over information to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, which will determine whether the officer obeyed the law. The officer has been put on administrative leave.

Lanning was not a documented gang member, but the man arrested after the chase is, Stolz said. That man was booked into jail on suspicion of possession of drugs.

Lanning Sr., a 41-year-old handyman, said he is trying to work out funeral arrangements, but that his son’s mother, who he is separated from, has been too grief-stricken to help with the details.

His son was making some efforts to tun his life around, Lanning Sr. said. He diligently applied for jobs, and got one at small factory in Haysville. He did not want to go back to jail or prison. He even talked about going to church this past Sunday with the three women friends who now sat in his father’s house, mourning the loss of a friend.

“He’d been telling us that he was tired of always having to look over his shoulder because he’d absconded, and that he wanted to get his life in order,” Harper said. “I don’t know if he was kidding about going to church when he brought it up on Saturday, but I think he really did want to go. But Sunday never came for him.” ..Source.. by Roy Wenzl, The Wichita Eagle

Marion County identifies young man killed in officer-involved shooting

10-19-2011 Oregon:

A man shot and killed early Monday by a Salem police officer was identified today as 22-year-old Dru Garret Larson.

Criminal records show that Larson had convictions for theft in Marion and Tillamook counties and identity theft, forgery, sex abuse and failure to register as a sex offender in Polk County.

An autopsy confirmed the cause of Larson's death to be gunshot wounds sustained during his confrontation with police, according to the Marion County District Attorney's Office.

Oregon State Police are investigating the shooting. ..Source.. by Alison Barnwell, The Oregonian

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Family: man shot by Salem police was "sweet, kind, loving"

10-18-2011 Oregon:

Jane Larson stood at northeast Salem intersection tonight with tears in her eyes and her hand over her mouth, trying not to be physically sick.

Piles of glass and a muddy tire treadmark in the grass showed the spot where her son, Dru Garret Larson, was fatally shot by police early Monday.

“I’m going to miss him so much,” Jane Larson said. “If I had my way, I wish it was me not him. I would change places in a heartbeat.”

Dru Larson, 22, was fatally shot by Salem police early Monday, Marion County Deputy District Attorney Matt Kemmy said. An autopsy performed by the Oregon State Medical Examiner determined Larson died of gunshot wounds, Kemmy said.

Larson was allegedly driving a stolen car about 1 a.m. Monday when he was spotted by police. A three-minute chase ensued through downtown Salem at speeds of 30 to 50 mph.

The stolen 1989 Honda Civic eventually crashed into a stop sign at the corner of Liberty and Grove streets NE. But the crash didn’t stop Larson, who kept driving and hit at least one other car, officials said.

Police said the driver’s “subsequent actions placed officers at the scene in imminent danger,” resulting in officers Rogers Smith and Laura Seefeldt firing their duty weapons. No new information about what happened immediately before the shooting was released Tuesday.

Witnesses said the driver put the car in reverse and apparently was headed toward police officers.

Photos of the suspect vehicle show bullet holes in the windshield. Officers provided emergency medical aid, but Larson died at the scene.

His family is trying to piece together what happened leading up the shooting. They went to the scene Tuesday night, seeking closure.

They called Dru Larson sweet, kind and loving. He liked football, video games and fixing up cars.

Dru Larson had two sisters and a brother. He grew up in Tillamook and graduated from Tillamook High School in 2007, said his sister, Brandi Larson, of Dallas.

“We’ve gotten more than 100 text messages from (people in) Tillamook,” Jane Larson said. “He will be missed.”

He moved to Salem in 2009 to be closer to family and to get out of the small-town lifestyle.

Dru Larson was homeless, but stayed with Brandi Larson and his mom at times. He spent the last five days of his life with his sister, Brandi Larson.

“He always told me, chin up,” she said.

Dru Larson struggled with a methamphetamine addiction, but had been clean for three weeks before the shooting, according to Jane and Brandi Larson.

“That’s why we can’t imagine this,” Jane Larson said. “It doesn’t make sense.”

Dru Larson never carried weapons, they said, questioning why officers used deadly force.

“My son, I feel, was a victim,” Jane Larson said. “And until I find out the whole truth, I won’t rest.”

Larson has about 10 prior misdemeanor convictions in Marion, Polk and Tillamook counties. In April 2011 he was convicted of identity theft, a felony, in Polk County and sentenced to probation and community service.

The officers involved in the Monday shooting have been put on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure after an officer involved shooting.

Senate Bill 111 establishes a procedure after officer-involved shootings. The Monday incident is being investigated by Oregon State Police and the Marion County District Attorney’s Office.

Kemmy said information on the incident will go before a grand jury, which will determine if charges are necessary and whether the officers were justified in using deadly force.

Smith has been a Salem police officer since 2006. Seefeldt was hired with the department in 2000, after working as an Independence police officer for about six years.

Smith previously was cleared in an officer-involved shooting that wounded Salem man Rockne Mack Nickell in March 2007. Nickell allegedly threatened neighbors with a knife and confronted police with what turned out to be a pellet gun.

According to a state police investigation, Smith thought he was shooting Nickell with his Taser, and instead fired his gun. ..Source.. by Stacey Barchenger, Statesman Journal

AWOL Fort Riley soldier killed in standoff

9-3-2011 Kansas:

A Fort Riley soldier who had been convicted Wednesday of raping a child was killed Thursday after a standoff with law enforcement officers in Abilene, a Fort Riley official said late Thursday.

U.S. marshals and local authorities located Sgt. Kirk Evenson at a hotel in Abilene. He had been reported absent without leave by military authorities Tuesday when he failed to appear for the second day of his court-martial for rape of a child — a violation of Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

“The man killed by law enforcement officials in Abilene, Kan., this evening was a Fort Riley soldier who was fleeing from military justice,” Lt. Col. Sophie Gainey, 1st Infantry Division public affairs officer, said in a news release.

Evenson was tried in absentia and was convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

His vehicle was spotted outside a hotel in Abilene on Thursday.

Gainey says Evenson was shot after a lengthy standoff when officers decided to enter the room and he “offered resistance.” Further details weren’t available.

“We are confident law enforcement officials made every effort possible in their attempts to apprehend Evenson peacefully,” Gainey said. “We are saddened for everyone affected by this tragic case.”

Evenson was assigned to the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. ..Source.. by The Capital-Journal

Man Killed by Police Linked to 2nd Rape

4-12-2011 Nevada:

LAS VEGAS -- New evidence has connected a rapist to two brutal sexual assault cases. DNA test results show the man shot and killed by police April 4 is the same rapist who struck in northwest Las Vegas last month.

The Val D'Isere Townhouse complex is gated, but in the early hours of March 30, violence shattered the quiet, peaceful community.

Val D'Isere resident Glenroy Jones was alarmed to learn a fellow resident was raped by an attacker who had been hiding in her home.

"This is such a quiet neighborhood," Jones said. "I'd be very glad if they would start a neighborhood watch in here."

Police say the man bound the woman but untied her after he sexually assaulted her. She fought back and injured him before he ran off.

Five days later, a man broke into another woman's home across town, raping her and creating a tense 12-hour standoff with police. Police eventually shot and killed the man, 48-year-old Michael Chevalier.

Police say Chevalier committed both crimes. Police say his injury during the first crime helped connect him to the second attack.

"He was injured when the victim fought back, and we have DNA evidence, blood evidence," Duvall said. "There are actually some striking similarities between the two crimes."

Chevalier committed the first rape in a modern neighborhood near Durango Drive and Washington Avenue. The second crime happened more than 10 miles away near Charleston Boulevard and Mojave Road. He may be dead now, but police are still investigating his last whereabouts.

"We haven't discounted the likelihood that he was staying in his car, although we're not 100 percent on that," Lt. Duvall said.

Word quickly spread at Val D'Isere that the rapist who struck the community has been dead for a week.

"I'm relieved really, because it's just crazy knowing that that could have happened to someone in my neighborhood," resident Mariah Kelly said.

Police say their evidence is strong, and these sexual assault cases are officially closed. They say they are not investigating any sexual assault cases that bear similar characteristics. They have, however, released surveillance images in case other victims do exist.

"If there are other victims, I can tell you - based on the reports we are reading - we have not seen it of this magnitude or this brutality. So if they do exist, if anyone knows anything more about this individual or about the crimes he's committed, or whether or not they're victims of similar crimes, we need them to contact Metro," said Lt. Duvall.

Chevalier, meanwhile, had a criminal record. He was convicted of manslaughter in Michigan in 1983. ..Source.. by Aaron Drawhorn, Reporter

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Man killed in hostage standoff had assaulted another woman, police say

4-11-2011 Nevada:

A man killed by police this month after holding a woman hostage and sexually assaulting her had attacked another woman less than a week earlier, Las Vegas police said Monday.

Blood evidence linked Michael Dean Chevalier, 48, to both crimes, said Lt. Robert DuVall, head of the Sexual Assault Detail.

The first sexual assault occurred in the northwest valley in the early hours of March 30. Chevalier entered a townhouse near Durango Drive and Washington Avenue about 2:30 a.m. and tied up a woman inside, DuVall said.

When he untied the woman, she fought back and caused him to bleed in the home, he said.

Detectives used that blood to identify Chevalier as the attacker.

"Our evidence is so strong that we're closing that case," DuVall said.

Police were investigating the possibility that Chevalier entered the townhouse through an unlocked door, he said.

Police spokesman Marcus Martin said Chevalier might have been stalking his first victim.

"There's evidence he was watching her," he said.

Four days later, Chevalier held a woman hostage and sexually assaulted her in her apartment during a 12-hour standoff with police.

Chevalier randomly entered the woman's apartment at the Sedona Hills complex on Charleston Boulevard near Fremont Street the afternoon of April 3, police said.

Officers were negotiating with Chevalier to surrender when he fired several shots at a sedan entering a parking lot, which he might have thought was driven by an undercover officer, police said.

SWAT officers were called to the scene, and the standoff ended at 4:30 a.m. the next day.

When SWAT officers entered the woman's apartment, Chevalier fired at them. One officer responded with a single shot, killing him.

Police have not said how Chevalier entered the woman's apartment, but Rhonda Foster, a resident in the apartment complex, told the Review-Journal that Chevalier is thought to have entered through an unlocked front door.

Foster said she spoke to a maintenance man, who told her police broke through several walls in nearby apartments to enter the woman's apartment. The account was confirmed by Las Vegas police.

The second-story apartment where the standoff occurred had only one stairwell that led to its front door.

SWAT Sgt. Mike Quick, 43, and patrol officer Aaron Perez, 35, have been placed on paid administrative leave since the shooting. Perez was not involved in the SWAT raid that ended the standoff.

Chevalier was convicted of manslaughter in May 1983 in Genesee County, Mich., according to public records.

DuVall said that he couldn't elaborate on the sexual assault during the hostage situation because of the internal investigation into the officer-involved shooting but that the two cases have "striking similarities."

Not much is known about Chevalier and his time in Southern Nevada, he said. Police suspect he might have been living in his car.

DuVall said police are unsure whether Chevalier assaulted anybody else in Las Vegas, and he urged people to call police if they suspect Chevalier committed other crimes. ..Source.. by Antonio Planas

Sex Offender Dies After Arlington Police Use Taser

1-18-2010 Virginia:

ARLINGTON, Va. (WUSA) -- Right on the Metro platform at the Pentagon City metro station, a struggle took place just after 8 p.m. Sunday.

"The suspect was aggressive with the officer," said Detective Crystal Nosal with Arlington Police.

An Arlington police officer spotted 36-year-old William Randolph Bumbrey of D.C., who was wanted for larceny in connection with a local pharmacy.

"When the officer spotted him, he asked him to stop; the suspect became combative," said Nosal.

That's when the officer called for help.

"While the officer and suspect were alone, the suspect was still fighting. The officer deployed his taser, and the suspect continued to fight with the officer," said Nosal.

A second officer arrived and handcuffed the suspect. As standard procedure for taser deployment, the officers called for medics. Nosal says the suspect than began to have labored breathing. When medics transported him to the hospital, Bumbrey was pronounced dead.

Bumbrey was released from prison two years ago after being convicted of a sex offense and other crimes. Police say they recovered items on Bumbrey believed to have been stolen from the pharmacy.

One Metro passenger, Shawn Butler, believes police officers should not carry tasers: "I know he has a checkered pass, but to be tasered because of shoplifting and then die? That's crazy."

The medical examiner will determine if the taser had any affect on Bumbrey's death.

The Arlington Police Department is investigating the death of William Bumbrey.

The officer who used the taser is on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation. ..Source.. by Peggy Fox

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Man Dies After Being Tasered by Police

2-7-2010 Virginia:

ARLINGTON, Va. - There are new questions after a man died during a struggle with police at a busy Metro stop.

Officers used a Taser on the man after he wouldn't cooperate at Pentagon City.

Arlington police are investigating their first-ever police-involved death involving a Taser.

The man, identified as 36-year-old William Bumbrey, a District resident, was struck with a Taser during a struggle with police.

Sources say Bumbrey, who appears on South Carolina's sex offender registry, had stolen several items from the Rite Aid pharmacy on South Hayes Street as it closed Sunday night.

A spokeswoman says an Arlington police officer saw a man matching the suspect's description, complete with pharmacy items in hand, and ordered him to stop. Police say Bumbrey ignored the officer's orders to stop.

"The suspect became combative and fought with the officer," said Det. Crystal Nosal, an Arlington County police spokesperson.

Sources say the scuffle between the officer and Bumbrey carried over into an elevator. A second officer came in. Bumbrey was handcuffed and he then starting having breathing problems.

Bumbrey was pronounced dead at the hospital. Arlington police use the Taser-brand X-26.

We tried to contact Bumbrey's father, but we're told he was dealing with the medical examiner and other such matters. We're still awaiting word from the ME on the exact cause of death.

Both officers remain on routine paid administrative leave. ..Source.. Markham Evans

CO- Sexual Assault Suspect Shot and Killed by Police

I cannot find any reason, in any version of this story, indicating why they killed him. It cannot be just because someone said "He will not go down alive," after all those are just words not actions.

3-11-2009 Colorado:

PUEBLO - A suspect wanted for two counts of sexual assault against a child has been shot and killed by police, concluding a manhunt in Pueblo that placed seven north side schools on lock-down Wednesday afternoon.

The Pueblo Sheriff's office is handling the investigation, since it involved two Pueblo Police Officers. Details about the shooting are still not being released, pending the investigation.

Police have confirmed the man shot and killed is 55-year old David Wiggs. Officers shot and killed Wiggs on the 4th street Bridge, near Erie on the east side of Pueblo around 4 p.m.

Sgt Eric Bravo with Pueblo Police tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 that the search for Wiggs began around 12:30 Wednesday afternoon, after an off-duty Florence Police Officer spotted him near the Safeway Grocery Store off 29th and Elizabeth.

Pueblo Police and Sheriff, along with the State Patrol conducted a search of the area. They took extra precaution while searching for Wiggs because he reportedly told family members and officers, "I will not go down alive," earlier in the day.

The search turned up a tent along Fountain Creek where Wiggs was believed to have been living for the last few days. K-9 units searched the creek bed on foot, and a police helicopter from Freemont County circled above the area throughout the afternoon.

Pueblo schools that were placed on lock-down status were Haaff Elementary, Irving Elementary, Morton Elementary, Somerlid Elementary, Freed Middle School, Heaton Middle School, and Centennial High School.

Students we spoke with say they were scared after an announcement was made on the intercom system. Bus services for those schools on lockdown were also stopped until D-60 got word about the suspect's death.

Dive Teams spent the night searching Fountain Creek near the shooting. Sgt Bravo won't says what investigators are looking for, but sources tell NEWSCHANNEL 13 that it could be a 9mm gun Wiggs apparently was carrying with him.

Teams called off the searched about 7:30 Wednesday night after temperatures dropped and the sun was setting. ..News Source.. by News Channel13.com

OH- Coroner: Suspected Rapist Died From Gunshot Wounds

7-10-2009 Ohio:

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A suspected serial rapist from Los Angeles died after being shot several times by police officers along Interstate 70 earlier this week, the Fairfield County Coroner ruled Thursday.

According to the coroner, Abram Bynum died after suffering gunshot wounds to his head, trunk and extremities, 10TV's Lindsey Seavert reported.

The autopsy was performed in Fairfield County because Bynum, 35, died along a stretch of freeway there.

Six officers opened fire on Bynum, 35, as they approached his wrecked Cadillac on I-70, near state Route 256, on Tuesday afternoon. Bynum crashed the car into a tanker truck as he attempted to elude police in a chase that began earlier in the day on the city's east side.

Authorities have yet to say whether or not Bynum had a weapon with him, but police said at some point the officers approaching the car feared for their lives, Seavert reported.

The coroner said Bynum only suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Bynum was suspected in at least five sexual assaults in Los Angeles County.

According to detectives, DNA evidence had linked Bynum to five sexual assaults that occurred in Los Angeles County between 2004 and 2007, 10TV News reported.

Prosecutors in California had filed 19 charges against Bynum in connection with the crimes.

Before Tuesday's pursuit, Columbus police were conducting surveillance on Bynum at the request of California authorities.

Investigators are looking into the possibility that Bynum was involved in similar crimes in Columbus, 10TV News reported.

"I'd say probably six to eight cases in Columbus," said Columbus police Commander Michael Manley.

Manley said he suspects Bynum attacked women on the city's northeast side, snatching them off the street, forcing them into his car and beating and raping them.

"When we got the info from L.A. on their cases and we talked about it and said let's go back and look, and that series was strikingly similar, I mean almost exact," Manley said.

Investigators planned to reopen those cases.

"We're going to have to find the victims again," Manley said. "It may not be that easy. And you're going to handle it like a fresh case." ..Source.. by 10TV News

NV- Vegas Detective Kills Accused Child Molester

7-3-2009 Nevada:

Man Suspected Of Child Sex Abuse, Domestic Violence, Metro Says

LAS VEGAS -- A child-molestation suspect was shot and killed by a Las Vegas Metro detective on Wednesday.

The shooting occurred just before 1 p.m. near North Rancho Drive and West Alexander Road.

The foot pursuit happened about a half-mile back at a home on North Rancho and Duncan drives and ended with police killing the suspect.

"We (have) seen stuff happen before. It's always something happening but never like this," said neighbor Rebecca Ludington.

A normally quiet neighborhood was wrapped in crime scene tape, and neighbors were barricaded inside their homes after an attempt to arrest a suspect turned fatal.

“There came a time when detectives tried to put him in custody … broke away from officers, and a long foot pursuit ensued," said Capt. Randy Montandon.

Metro said the chase began after the suspect was questioned by two detectives at a neighboring business. The man was suspected of child sex abuse and domestic violence.

During the chase, the detectives attempted to use a Taser but were unsuccessful. A physical altercation ensued, and Metro said the detectives had no choice but to use deadly force.

“It was all about capturing the suspect and keeping the community safe from predators. These officers went way above and beyond to try and do that,” Montandon said.

The suspect was taken down in front of a home on West Alexander Road and Helen Avenue. Neighbors coming home to a crime scene said they were stunned.

Investigators wrapped up their work at the scene, and police have not released the suspect’s identity. Police said they do not believe he lived in this area.

This was the 10th officer-involved shooting in Metro's jurisdiction this year. ..Source.. by Fox5News

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OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING: Police account is disputed

Woman says she didn't see 'physical altercation' before suspect was killed

An eyewitness account appears to contradict police statements about the Wednesday officer-involved shooting that left a sexual assault suspect dead.

The witness said she didn't see the "physical altercation" between two detectives and the suspect that was described by Las Vegas police.

"What we saw was there was no Taser. There was no fight," said the woman, who lives down the street from the scene of the shooting, in a residential neighborhood near Alexander Road and Rancho Drive.

"He was running. He was just (expletive) running," she said, adding that the suspect's back was facing detectives.

The woman spoke to the Review-Journal on condition that her name not be used, saying she doesn't want to "get in the middle of that." She said she hasn't spoken to police because police told her to go home when she approached them at the scene at two different times. Her husband, who was also a witness, was too ill to be interviewed Thursday.

In a brief Wednesday news conference and in a news release issued Thursday, police produced few details about the shooting.

Police said that two detectives with the department's sexual assault unit were investigating a sexual assault case involving a child under 14 years of age.

They were interviewing a "person of interest" at his work, at the El Jen Convalescent Hospital and Retirement Center at 5538 Duncan Drive, less than a quarter-mile down the street from where the shooting took place.

After interviewing the man, the detectives determined he was a suspect and placed him under arrest. During the arrest, the man fled. Detectives chased him on foot.

At some point a detective deployed a Taser, which police said wasn't effective in stopping the man. The chase lasted about a half-mile and ended in front of a vacant home on the northeast corner of Alexander Road and Helen Avenue.

That's where police said one of the detectives and the suspect became involved in a "physical altercation." During the altercation, police said the detective fired his handgun twice, killing the suspect.

The unidentified man was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was not released as of Thursday.

The witness said she was driving north on Helen, approaching Alexander with her husband, who was in the passenger's seat of their pickup. They were stopped at the stop sign when they saw the detectives, a man and a woman, chasing the suspect in front of the vacant house.

The suspect had very short hair and a tan complexion. The detectives were in plainclothes and she didn't know they were police.

"It looked like a married couple was chasing him," the woman said. "I was thinking, 'What the hell did he do to piss them off?' "

She saw the detectives lunge at the suspect. It appeared the male detective might have grabbed the suspect or touched him, she said, because the suspect stumbled forward but kept running.

The female detective fell to the ground and began gasping for air. She saw the male detective stumble, raise a firearm and shoot the suspect. She estimated the suspect was about seven or eight feet away from the detective. The suspect was about to round the southwest corner of the house and head north on Helen, she said.

She heard one shot, although police reported two shots were fired. The suspect fell to the ground, flailed around for a few moments, and lay still.

Her husband rolled down the truck's passenger-side window and said, "What the (expletive) is going on here?" she said.

The male detective pulled his badge and said they were with the police and that the couple needed to leave, the woman said.

She and her husband went home, parked their truck and walked back to the scene before other officers arrived. When they returned to the scene, "They told us, 'You need to leave,' " she said.

The couple left without giving a statement to police. She said the detectives knew they were witnesses to the shooting.

The department on Thursday would not release additional details about the suspect or the event. The names of the detectives will be released 48 hours after the shooting, per department policy. They have been placed on routine paid administrative leave, also per department policy.

"As with all officer-involved shootings resulting in death, there will be an inquest convened and the details of this officer-involved shooting will come out in this process," Metropolitan Police Department Sgt. John Loretto said.

He said he couldn't comment on the witness's account but encouraged her and her husband to come forward to give their accounts to police.

"I certainly couldn't speculate, but the agency definitely needs to speak to them," Loretto said.

The woman said she isn't going to seek the police out again but will talk to them if they come to her.

According to state law, a police officer can, after giving a warning, use deadly force to prevent an escape if there is probable cause to believe that the person "has committed a felony which involves the infliction or threat of serious bodily harm or the use of deadly force" or "poses a threat of serious bodily harm to the officer or to others."

That justification was used in 2006 when police shot handcuffed 17-year-old Swuave Lopez, a suspect in a murder case, as the teen was running away.

Loretto would not speculate on whether that was the justification for Wednesday's shooting. Capt. Randy Montandon said Wednesday that the suspect was wanted in "separate instances with multiple victims, one in a domestic violence-type situation and the other a sex with a child under 14 situation."

Details of those cases have not been released.

Other witnesses were at the scene and have spoken to police, Montandon and Loretto said. The witness said she saw one other person at the scene, stopped at the intersection in a small car.

She said she has little sympathy for the suspect.

"He's a child molester. He deserves what he got." ..Source.. by Lawrence Mower

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Suspect Stunned By Taser Before Being Shot

7-1-2009 Nevada:

Metro Says Man Took Off When They Tried To Arrest Him

LAS VEGAS -- A Metro police officer has shot and killed a child-molestation suspect on North Rancho Drive and West Alexander Road.

The incident began in the 5000 block of Duncan Drive, Metro said. Police officers said they were interviewing 32-year-old John Hambleton, and when they tried to place him under arrest, he ran from them.

Police said they ran after Hambleton, but he kept running, so they used a Taser on him.

When the stun gun did not work, they shot him, and he died, police said.

Police said they are looking for a possible witness in a gold Ford Crown Victoria. ..Source..

AZ- Tucson police officers in fatal child molestation shooting identified

To Commentors: This site reports what the news reports, and using facts from those articles we TAG stories (See LABELS at end of story). We express NO personal beliefs. Please notice we did post the news story of interview w/family member once we knew about that interview. Further, as facts are revealed we can only hope that an investigation will take place and the truth be the result.

Visitor Comment: "I find it interesting that all the news sources I've read have failed to mention Stanley was born with Cerebral Palsey and required crutches to walk. He used the kind that cupped around the forearm. I find it difficult to paint an image of someone walking towards the police wildly brandishing a handgun with crutches."

From KGUN9 news report:

Woman defends brother killed in officer involved shooting

A family is mourning after a man was shot and killed by 2 Tucson Police officers, early Monday morning. Police tells us it was justified, but the family isn't sure.

It began around midnight. Police showed up at the home near Wilmot and 22nd Street to search the home, after allegations that the man inside, Stanley Barr, 48, had molested a child.

Sharon Niehaus is Barr's sister. She says, her brother suffered from Cerebral Palsy and wore braces, and doesn't believe he was a threat to anyone.

Holding his braces, Sharon demonstrates, "He was probably trying to get his arm out of here, and would've had to bring his hand up to get it out of here."

Tucson Police, tell us a very different story: officers approached the door, which was open, and saw Barr coming toward them.

"The suspect is coming toward the front door and they see that he has a handgun. He's armed with a gun", said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco. Police officers at the scene report, Barr cocked his gun and waived it around, and made comments about not wanting to cooperate with Police.

"Shortly after, the suspect leveled the gun at both officers, forcing them to shoot him", said Pacheco.

Barr later died at the hospital. His sister wishes she had the chance to say goodbye and to ask her brother, what exactly happened?

"I don't know, I wasn't there when it happened. I'm going to be honest. But there's no way , unless they've got it on film, to show me that he did that. He's not capable of doing that", said Sharon.

Tucson Police officers, Steven Boggie and Loren Layton, who fired their weopans, are on administrative leave which is routine in a case like this.

Tucson Police say, a shooting review board consisting of people inside and outside the police department will investigate.

As for the child molestation accusations, Barr cannot be prosecuted, but police say that part of the case will play a role in the overall investigation into what happened. ..Source.. by KGUN9.com

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4-6-2009 Arizona:

A man under investigation for child molestation was shot to death by Tucson police after he pointed a gun at two officers late Sunday.

The officers — Steven Boggie and Loren Layton — have been placed on paid leave, which is normal in officer-involved shootings.

The shooting occurred while police prepared to serve a search warrant at the suspect’s residence in the 6300 block of East Calle Castor, near East 22nd Street and South Wilmot Road, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.

The investigation involving Stanley Laverne Barr, 48, began Sunday afternoon around 2:45 p.m. when police received a report of child molestation of a teenager.

Detectives from the child sexual assault unit were able to gather information allowing them to obtain a search warrant for the home at 7:50 p.m., Pacheco said.

Police watched the home for any activity before two patrol officers went up to the door to make contact with Barr just before midnight.

When the officers went up to the door, they could see Barr approaching through a screen door, Pacheco said.

Barr had a handgun in his pocket, which he pulled out as he made his way to the front of the home.

The officers — who have been with the agency for four years — gave Barr repeated commands to drop the gun but he did not comply, instead chambering a round and pointing it at the officers, “forcing the officers to shoot,” Pacheco said.

Barr was taken to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 12:35 a.m.

Homicide detectives along with the Department’s Internal Affairs Office, The Pima County Attorney’s Office and a civilian police auditor are investigating, Pacheco said.

No one else was home at the time of the shooting and police were unable to release any details on the molestation case or the victim due to the sensitive nature, Pacheco said.

Officers decided to serve the search warrant at night because they were concerned that there was critical evidence in the home that could have been discarded or destroyed, Pacheco said. ..Source.. by Alexis Huicochea, Arizona Daily Star

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Armed molestation suspect killed by cops not on sex offender list

4-6-2009 Arizona:

Man pointed pistol at officer, refused to drop it, was shot dead, police say

A child molestation suspect who died at 12:35 a.m. Monday from police gunfire never served time in an Arizona prison, the state Department of Corrections Web site shows.

Nor does an Arizona sex offender Web site list Stanley L. Barr II, 48, as someone who would be required to register here even if he had been convicted of a sex crime in another state.

Police have identified the two officers who shot the armed man as Steven Boggie and Loren Layton, each of whom has been with the Tucson Police Department for four years, police spokesman Sgt. Fabian Pacheco said.

Barr died at University Medical Center shortly after he pulled a gun on Boggie and Layton and they shot him late Sunday night, Tucson police said.

Events leading to the shooting began about 2:45 p.m. Sunday, Pacheco said. He provided this account:

A mother reported the molestation of her teen, and Barr became a suspect in the case. The youth's identity and gender were not disclosed.

Officers and detectives began an investigation that led them to get a warrant shortly before 8 p.m. to search Barr's home in the 6300 block of East Calle Castor, near East 22nd Street and South Wilmot Road.

Detectives staked out the home until uniformed officers could help serve the search warrant.

At the front door of the home, Boggie and Layton saw Barr pull a pistol from his pocket as he approached them.

The two officers repeatedly told him to drop it.

Instead, Barr chambered a cartridge in the semi-automatic pistol and pointed it at the officers, both of whom fired at him.

Boggie and Layton have been put on paid leave, as is standard procedure in police-involved shootings, Pacheco said.

Homicide detectives and internal affairs investigators are investigating the shooting. ..Source.. by David L. Teibel

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Man killed by police left suicide note

5-7-2009 Arizona:

Police found suicide notes in Stanley Barr's East Side home after he was fatally shot by two Tucson police officers April 6, according to police reports obtained by the Tucson Citizen.

Barr, 48, was under investigation by police in a sexual molestation case.

His wife called 911 earlier that day to report the alleged sexual abuse of a family member, according to police reports.

She and Barr got into a "confrontation" and she left their home after he went into a bedroom and "got into the bag where he kept his gun," she told police.

Plainclothes detectives had begun surveillance of the house by midafternoon and they approached the front door shortly before midnight.

Officers wore vests identifying them as police.

They had a search warrant to allow them to enter the house after 10:30 p.m.

Investigators from the Child Sex Assault Unit wanted to obtain evidence from the home and DNA evidence from Barr. They also wanted to interview Barr about his wife's allegations.

"Barr came to the door armed," the police reports state.

He had a handgun in his pocket and refused detectives' efforts to get him to "relinquish the weapon."

"As officers spoke with (Barr), he chambered a round in the pistol and put the gun to his head."

Barr said "something to the effect of 'you gotta do what you gotta do,'" according to the police reports.

When Barr pointed his weapon directly at police, patrol officers Loren Layton and Steven Boogie fired, killing Barr.

"It's a very unfortunate incident," said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a spokesman for the police department.

He said Barr "taunted" the officers, bringing his handgun up to his head and then pointing the weapon at officers.

"Officers have to use lethal force against lethal force," Pacheco said Thursday.

"We don't use Taser or pepper spray against someone armed with a handgun."

Barr had cerebral palsy and used crutches but he managed to wield a gun as he faced off with officers, according to the reports.

"He (Barr) did pose a threat to the officers in spite of his medical condition," Pacheco said.

"Mr. Barr chose to make that decision to not obey those commands from the officers and to level the gun at the officers, and it ended up with tragic results."

The reports indicate no officers "rendered aid" to Barr before Tucson Fire Department paramedics arrived.

Barr was pronounced dead in the emergency room at University Medical Center at 12:35 a.m.

Among the items removed from the house by investigators were pink shorts with candy canes and "paws" on them, a comforter with squares and circles on it and salmon colored bedsheets.

Layton and Boggie are back on patrol.

The police department is conducting an investigation into the shooting, which is routine in police shootings. ..Source.. by SHERYL KORNMAN, Tucson Citizen

SC- Iva Police Chief releases officer’s name

2-16-2009 SOuth Carolina:

IVA — A dispute over a stolen prescription was a flash point that left a 41-year-old Anderson man dead, an Iva police officer and a 71-year-old woman injured.

Iva Police Chief Thomas Miller on Monday identified the officer who fired the fatal shots at Mark Monroe Evans as Sgt. Tim Striss. The woman was identified as Lula Charping.

Sgt. Striss, 34, shot Evans about 4 p.m. Saturday at 713 Front St. in Iva.

Sgt. Striss had gone to the house to complete a report after Ms. Charping reported that Mr. Evans stole her prescription. But he found himself “trapped in the house. Both were attacking him,” Chief Miller said.

When Sgt. Striss arrived to take the prescription report, he found Mr. Evans and Ms. Charping in an argument and attempted to separate them, Chief Miller said. Moments after the officer told Mr. Evans to sit and wait in a kitchen, he ran, causing Sgt. Striss to try to restrain him, using pepper spray and a baton to no effect, Chief Miller said.

“(Ms. Charping) attacked the officer when Evans was struck with the baton,” Chief Miller said.

Sgt. Striss suffered bruises, abrasions and a cut that required six stitches under his eye, the chief said.

Chief Miller, who was off duty at the time, said he was just arriving at the house about 4 minutes after dispatchers reported an officer requesting assistance.

“Then they called out, ‘Shots fired,’” Chief Miller said. “I have never been in that situation. By the grace of God, (Sgt. Striss) is not the one that is deceased.”

Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said Mr. Evans suffered a gunshot to his stomach and a fatal gunshot to his neck.

At the time Sgt. Striss was in the house, deputies with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office were headed to Iva to talk with Mr. Evans about a stolen vehicle and a robbery on Thursday, Chief Miller said.

According to records at the Anderson County Courthouse, Mr. Evans was released from the Anderson City Jail on Dec. 3. An Anderson Municipal Court judge set a $15,000 bond after Mr. Evans was accused in October of receiving or possessing stolen goods valued at more than $1,000. His address was listed as 101 Farmer St. in Anderson, court records show.

On Jan. 2, Mr. Evans completed his annual registration as one of South Carolina’s sex offenders, listing Ms. Charping’s 713 Front St. home in Iva as his residence, according to state and detention records. Mr. Evans was convicted in 1993 of committing a lewd act on a child, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s Web site. His initial sex offender registration was in June 1999, state records show.

Sunday, Ms. Charping was charged with assault on a police officer and interference with an officer, according to records at the Anderson County Detention Center. Chief Miller said Ms. Charping is being held under a $10,000 bond.

SLED officials have been called in by Chief Miller to investigate. It’s a routine procedure, he said.

And an internal investigation is under way by Iva police officials to make sure that city policies were followed on Saturday, Chief Miller said. ..News Source.. by Pearce Adams

FL- Naked sex offender, Tasered by deputies, dies

3-21-2008 Florida:

A naked and belligerent Deerfield Beach man, who Broward sheriff's deputies Tasered when he resisted arrest, died in BSO custody early Friday.

James Garland, 41, was unconscious when he arrived at Imperial Point Hospital in a BSO cruiser some time after 4 a.m., BSO said. He was later pronounced dead.

The Broward County Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy Friday to determine Garland's cause of death. BSO has directed the office not to release its findings at this time, said Wendy Crane, a medical investigator.

According to a BSO release, here's what happened:

At about 4:15 Friday, deputies responded to a 911 call at the Hillsboro Boulevard bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway of a man walking in traffic, waving his shirt.

When they arrived, they found Garland strolling naked past the Ocean Boulevard Condominium at 191 SE 20 Ave.

Deputies tried to detain him, but he became angry, and refused to comply. Deputies hit him with a stun gun, and were able to take Garland, who became violent, into custody.

Garland continued to rage. Paramedics, fearful of his behavior, refused to transport him to the hospital, and so he was taken by a marked patrol car.

At some point, Garland lost consciousness, and later died.

He has had 10 arrests in Broward County in the last six years, mostly for drug-related offenses. Garland spent six months in prison from late 2002 through early 2003 following a possession of cocaine conviction.

It is not known if cocaine was in his system at the time of his death, said Jim Leljedal, a BSO spokesman.

The police use of Tasers has drawn national scrutiny, as the practice has led to dozens of deaths in recent years. In many instances, those killed were high on cocaine, a stimulant, at the time that 50,000 volts are sent through their body.

In January, a Coral Gables man died after he was Tasered. Police say Xavier Jones, 29, was causing a commotion and resisting arrest at a Coral Gables hotel when he was Tasered.

Garland, of 167 NW 2nd St., is a registered sex offender. In 1991, a Grady, Ga., jury convicted him of molesting a child, according to Florida's sexual offenders database. ..more.. by

Man Dies After Being Tasered By Deputies

12-10-2007 Georgia:

WALTON COUNTY, Ga. -- A man is dead after Walton County deputies say they had no choice but to taser him. Deputies say Leroy Patterson, Jr. was being questioned about a sexual assault and became belligerent. He died shortly after being tasered.

"Well, I'm confident that the deputies did everything they felt they needed to do in that situation at that particular time," said Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman.

Chapman is standing by a deputy, who he said tasered 41-year-old Patterson early Monday morning. Patterson died less than an hour later.

"We have some of the best trained deputies in the state of Georgia," said Chapman. "We're constantly training."

Chapman said the incident happened at the Green Acres subdivision on Virginia Court and Monroe. He said a patrol deputy and a detective approached the suspect's blue truck -- which he lived in. It was parked on a co-worker's property. Chapman said when they questioned Patterson about a woman's sexual assault charges, he became combative.

"He began throwing evidence out of the truck. He was subdued by the deputies and a Taser was used," said Chapman.

The sheriff said while the suspect was in custody, he began having seizures. He was pronounced dead at the Walton County Hospital.

The case is now in the hands of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

"I just ask that we don't make any judgments at this time. Let's wait until the Georgia Bureau of Investigation conducts their investigation and determines the facts and then go from there," said Chapman.

The sheriff said it's standard for the GBI to handle cases involving deputies.

Officials are not releasing the deputy's name but he has been placed on administrative leave with pay -- which the sheriff said is also standard practice.

The GBI said an autopsy on Patterson is planned for Tuesday. Toxicology reports could take several weeks. ..more.. by WSBTV.com