Officer shoots, kills double amputee in wheelchair in Houston

[Cardinal]

HOUSTON – A Houston police officer shot and killed a one-armed, one-legged man in a wheelchair Saturday inside a group home after police say the double amputee threatened the officer and aggressively waved a metal object that turned out to be a pen.

Police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said the man cornered the officer in his wheelchair and was making threats while trying to stab the officer with the pen. At the time, the officer did not know what the metal object was that the man was waving, Silva said.

She said the man came "within inches to a foot" of the officer and did not follow instructions to calm down and remain still.

"Fearing for his partner's safety and his own safety, he discharged his weapon," Silva told The Associated Press.

Police did not immediately release the name of the man who was killed. They had been called to the home after a caretaker there called and reported that the man in wheelchair was causing a disturbance.

The owner of the group home, John Garcia, told the Houston Chronicle that the man had a history of mental illness and had been living at the house about 18 months. Garcia said the man had told him that he lost a leg above the knee and all of one arm when he was hit by a train.

"He sometimes would go off a bit, but you just ignore it," Garcia told the newspaper.

Silva identified the officer as Matthew Jacob Marin, a five-year veteran of the department. He was immediately placed on three-day administrative leave, which is standard in all shootings involving officers.

Houston police records indicate that Marin also fatally shot a suspect in 2009. Investigators at the time said Marin came upon a man stabbing his neighbor to death at an apartment complex and opened fired when the suspect refused to drop the knife.

On Saturday, Marin and his partner arrived at the group home around 2:30 a.m. Silva said there were several people at the house at the time. The caretaker who called police waited on the porch while the officers went inside, she said.

"It was close quarters in the area of the house," Silva said. "The officer was forced into an area where he had no way to get out."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/22...#ixzz27FsTKZao

[Dozdoats]

Well, the Server And Protector Of The City Government followed the New Prime Directive For American LEOs - he went home safe at the end of his shift.

Let me as a mere armed citizen make such a deadly force decision as that, however, and I'd be hounded through the courts for years, likely jailed and sued as well.

[sthrnfriedrocker]

What on earth are tasers for, I guess since they use those on little old ladies and eight year old girls, then the logical next step for them would be to use lethal force in a situation that actually calls for use of a taser.

And people wonder why I have zero trust or respect for police these days. There are too many bad apples out there, and what makes it worse is all the other cops that say nothing.

[Dennis Olson]

Any dogs get killed too...?

[mzkitty]

Any dogs get killed too...?

The cop thought the guy was a dog.

[Dozdoats]

Any dogs get killed too...?

Naaah, he was in a wheelchair, not blind.

[Buckster]

Pretty soon this is going to be the AmeriKan norm.

A one armed, one legged man in a wheel chair couldn't be disarmed of a metal object the size of a pen, which turned out to be a pen?

Incompetence and cowardice.

[bad_karma00]

Well, you knew this was coming, once that new 'aggressive waving' ordinance went into effect.

I going to leave my pen at home from now own. Clearly it's not safe to carry writing instruments on the streets these days.

[mzkitty]

Gettin' rather Gestapo-ish all up in here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestapo

[Thunderbird]

Now there is one proud cop, as is the department that protects him.

[Scotto]

Dumb double amputee obviously didn't have a Conceal & Carry Pen Permit. It was probably one of those evil black (ink) pens too. I'll bet the bastard even had automatic pencils in his home.

That oughta learn 'em.

[blueridge]

...never bring a pen to a gunfight???...

[Ragnarok]

The officer was forced into an area where he had no way to get out.

Bull

[goatlady2]

Considering it was most probably a 300 pound motorized wheelchair I can see the officer getting cornered, but still a tad over-reaction. Was it the cornered officer that shot or the partner of the cornered officer? Sounds as if it was the more free officer trying to "save" his partner?

[Melodi]

Also, they went to a call at a "group house" where they knew there would be disturbed and disabled clients; one of whom was causing a disturbance bad enough for the police to be called and they didn't have a taser? I thought that was exactly the sort of situation those things were for, not forcing people out of libraries or deciding an elderly person isn't getting out of their car fast enough.

I mean, sometimes people die from tasers too (especially their miss-use when they continue to be fired multiple dozens of times) but a mentally ill, full sized adult acting in a threatening way (in a home for goodness sake) seems a perfect and proper use of the technology. One or two fires should have been enough to freeze the guy and they could then get him to the hospital and wait for a court order about where he went next.

Now, he's just dead...for waving a pen around and having a mental collapse, while living in a facility that is supposed to tend to such people (I realize it is a home, and not a psych ward).

The cop who did this may have been totally justified in killing the first jerk, the one stabbing his neighbor to death, but I want to know who made the decision to send these guys out on a situation like the disabled man without a taser? If he had one and used the gun instead, I hope the family considers serious legal action and perhaps criminal charges may also be in order.

I do understand the threat of a 300 pound electric wheel chair powered by a person not in their right mind, but it looks like they went in without proper equipment for that particular sort of job.

[LightEcho]

Dumb double amputee obviously didn't have a Conceal & Carry Pen Permit. It was probably one of those evil black (ink) pens too. I'll bet the bastard even had automatic pencils in his home.

That oughta learn 'em.

Yes- it was metallic and likely an assault pen. The penman was waving it in a threatening manner and the officer's personal safety was surely at risk. It is highly probably that ink stains on the uniform could have resulted if they did not take extreme measures. This is one dangerous penman that will not be a threat to anyone in the future thanks to our brave officers.

[FREEBIRD]

"Pretty soon this is going to be the AmeriKan norm."

Pretty sure we're already there.

[Cardinal]

Article doesn't say whether the pen was loaded, or if it might have been one of those plastic pens...I'll reserve judgment on this.

[Ragnarok]

The officer was forced into an area where he had no way to get out.

Goes back to situational awareness. The way to ensure you are not "forced" into an area where you have "no way to get out", is not to go there to begin with.

[SuElPo]

With someone mentally ill you don't just go in yelling at them, but try to calm them down and talk to them in a way to be more on their level until the situation is safe. Also, even if one officer felt he had to use a gun, how come he didn't shoot at one of his remaining limbs to stop him, but not kill him?

Susan

[NoName]

With someone mentally ill you don't just go in yelling at them, but try to calm them down and talk to them in a way to be more on their level until the situation is safe. Also, even if one officer felt he had to use a gun, how come he didn't shoot at one of his remaining limbs to stop him, but not kill him?

Susan

'Cuz he knew he could get away with it and get a three day weekend outta the deal. I'm sorry, I've worked the state forensic psych hospital where we were called on a daily basis to handle worse disturbances with literally a sheet and our hands, we were well trained and did our jobs well. These guys are thugs wanting a check, they no longer care about who gets hurt.

[LightEcho]

How they train will be shown in how they react.

[Dozdoats]

Aunt Stabby weighs in...

http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot...okay-look.html
Sunday, September 23, 2012

Okay, look...

There have been times when a police officer has shot somebody who was armed with a knife or an airsoft gun or whatever, and I've come across as some sort of big ol' cop apologist by saying things like "How could he have known it was an airsoft gun?" or "How many times is the officer supposed to let himself get stabbed before he can put away the pepper spray and use lethal force?"

Part of it is from a certain reluctance to engage in Monday-morning quarterbacking, but a lot of it is simple self-preservation: I'd hate to have to shoot some hypothetical future knife-wielding mugger, only to have the other team's lawyer come strolling into the courtroom with a ream of printed out blog posts featuring me whining "Why didn't the cop just wrestle the knife out of his hand?"

With all that taken into consideration, and acknowledging that it is not yet Monday morning: "Blue 42! Hut, hut, hut!"

Seriously, officer? A double amputee? In a wheelchair?

I understand it was a pretty stressful situation, and that the guy had a reputation for occasionally losing his fecal matter and rolling about the place like a combination of a rabid Ghengis Khan and R2D2, but thus far the group home staff have kept him successfully tethered to Mother Earth with a toolset notably devoid of Glock 22s. Even if you really and truly thought that the pen he was waving about was an... I don't know, an X-acto knife, I guess... was going to guns the onliest and bestest solution at your disposal?

How could you have thought that would look good?

[Panner]

This is sickening, but the cops reaction is how they are now trained. I used to know some LE people and they are told to shoot first and not take any chances if someone has something in their hand. It happens all the time around here. This was over the top, all they had to do is back off for awhile and let things cool down. Anyone in their right mind would know that a metal pen is not going to penetrate a bullet proof vest that they all wear. This cop should be fired from the force and never work as an LE again, but we all know that when it is reviewed he will be cleared.

[Richard]

there was a cop who posted on this forum about similar incidents, can we please hear from him

at the very least he could have shot him in the shoulder

[Elza]

and did not follow instructions to calm down and remain still.

There's your reason, folks. Instead of "To Serve and Protect" it is now "Obey or Die!"

[Garryowen]

there was a cop who posted on this forum about similar incidents, can we please hear from him

at the very least he could have shot him in the shoulder

I think the universal, or nearly so, protocol is two shots to the thorax if you need to shoot. I've never heard anyone suggest trying to shoot an arm or a leg. You are not only trying to stop a perp, but you also need to stop the bullet. If you don't, it may come to rest in a "school bus full of second-graders."

I'm not defending the officer's behavior, merely stating that such precision shooting is not normally possible with a handgun in a stressful situation. (Yep, the handgun is in a stressful situation, too.)

[DryCreek]

...never bring a pen to a gunfight???...

The pen is mightier than the sword. Doesn't work well wit pistols though.

[Dennis Olson]

I think the universal, or nearly so, protocol is two shots to the thorax if you need to shoot. I've never heard anyone suggest trying to shoot an arm or a leg. You are not only trying to stop a perp, but you also need to stop the bullet. If you don't, it may come to rest in a "school bus full of second-graders."

I'm not defending the officer's behavior, merely stating that such precision shooting is not normally possible with a handgun in a stressful situation. (Yep, the handgun is in a stressful situation, too.)

Except that this guy wasn't going to leap up and run, either toward or away from the officer. You can't apply "regular" tactics against someone who is by-and-large immobile.

[Ragnarok]

As far as the shooting itself goes. *IF* you shoot, you are trained to shoot to kill. If you shoot to wound, it shows that they perp wasn't a threat to your safety and less than lethal was an option.

Cops will NEVER shoot to wound...

[Dozdoats]

*IF* you shoot, you are trained to shoot to kill

NO!

You are trained to shoot to STOP, not to kill. If you are properly trained that is.

[Wolfman]

It could be a 'suicide by cop'. Some of these amputee's get pretty depressed and may just want to 'check out'

[Ragnarok]

*IF* you shoot, you are trained to shoot to kill

NO!

You are trained to shoot to STOP, not to kill. If you are properly trained that is.

ok...That's kind of a technicality...

Ask a cop if they ever shoot to wound, none will admit to it because they would get sued out the butt.


Police Officers don't shoot to wound
Police, like military, are trained to shoot center mass of the target. Most cops aren't trickshots; they don't aim for the kneecaps, and they won't shoot a knife out of the hand of a delirious daytime psycho. They aim center mass for one simple reason - with a pistol, it's easy to miss.
http://www.businessinsider.com/times...to-kill-2012-8

[Firebird]

How does a one armed man maneuver a wheelchail towards a cop while weilding a pen-like object? Physically impossible unless he was holding the pen in his mouth.........................

[FREEBIRD]

"This is sickening, but the cops reaction is how they are now trained. I used to know some LE people and they are told to shoot first and not take any chances if someone has something in their hand."

If this is the rule then why do they even have tasers? Oh, yeah, I forgot, need to have them to keep old people and children, etc. in line.