BamaD -> RE: White Cop Refused to Shoot Armed Black Man (5/10/2017 1:28:13 PM)
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ORIGINAL: vincentML In his lawsuit against Weirton, West Virginia, police officer Stephen Mader claims he was fired for "negligence" and endangering fellow officers when he refused to shoot to kill mentally ill, armed, 23 year old R.J. Williams. Officer Mader was the first to answer a call of disturbance at Williams home. He confronted Williams and his gun (which later was found to be unloaded) Based on his experience in Afghanistan Mader judged that Williams was not a threat and decided to talk him down, to deescalate the situation. “He wasn’t angry,” he said of Williams, “he wasn’t aggressive, he didn’t seem in position to want to use a gun against anybody. He never pointed it at me. I didn’t perceive him as an imminent threat.” [SNIP] and within seconds of the other officers getting out of their cruisers there were four shots fired.” As reported on Fox News TV: “I thought I was going to be able to talk to him and deescalate it,” Mader, an ex-Marine, told The Post-Gazette. “I knew it was suicide-by-cop.” Mader said even though he didn’t know Williams Jr.’s gun was unloaded at the time, the man had the gun at his side and was not pointing it at the officer. He also knew that he had been called to the scene because of a domestic disturbance and Williams Jr. had only threatened to hurt himself. “I told him, ‘Put down the gun,’ and he’s like, ‘Just shoot me.’ And I told him, ‘I’m not going to shoot you brother,’” Mader said. Eventually, two other officers arrived and one of them shot and killed Williams Jr., hitting him in the back of the head, just behind his right ear, The Post-Gazette reported. The shooting was deemed justified, but Mader was terminated because he “failed to eliminate a threat,” according to his June 6 termination letter. Mader is now working toward getting a commercial license to drive trucks. City officials did not return calls from The Post-Gazette seeking comment. Was the killing justified? Or, was Mader handling the situation properly? Both perhaps. Mader was looking into the mans face and may have read the intent of suicide by cop. The other cops arrived and saw a fellow officer being threatened. There was no way to know the gun was empty till it was over. Even your account indicates suicide by cop so they were just doing what the "victim" wanted.
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