Cop Stops Suicide by Killing the Guy

[Bono]

www.htrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080418/MAN0101/304180046/1984

Sheboygan man killed after aiming gun at cop

Alan Gee described as suicidal before incident

Gannett Wisconsin Media

A 47-year-old man described by his daughter as suicidal was shot and killed Thursday after aiming a loaded rifle at a Sheboygan police officer, police said.

Alan Gee, of 620 National Ave., was shot by a 12-year veteran of the Sheboygan Police Department, police said. The shooting occurred about 10:10 a.m. on Gee's north-side property as officers responded to his daughter's 911 call.

"I think my dad's going to commit suicide in the garage," the daughter, who is in her early 20s, told a 911 dispatcher. "He said, 'You were right, you guys don't need me anymore.'"

The woman stayed on the phone as Gee took a gun to his garage, climbed into his truck and drove around the block. As two officers approached the property, Gee parked in the alley, walked into his garage and picked up a .22-caliber rifle, said Chief David Kirk.

Gee, standing in the garage, aimed the weapon at a 35-year-old officer, who was standing about 25 feet away just outside the garage. When Gee ignored commands to lower the weapon, the officer fired a single shot from his department-issue AR-15 assault rifle, striking Gee in the head.

Kirk said Gee left the officer no choice.

"I have no concerns. I don't think that this is complicated," the chief said. "I feel that the officer acted with the proper police procedures in this matter. To be confronted by a man who has a rifle pointed at you — it's a dangerous job."

Gee was taken to Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center and later transferred by helicopter to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Wauwatosa, where he was pronounced dead shortly after noon, Kirk said. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

The department has started an investigation into the shooting, which when complete will be forwarded to the District Attorney's Office for review, Kirk said. Police declined to release the officer's name until the report is complete.

Gina Gotiear-Meyer, 50, who lives across the street from Gee's home, said the news hit her hard Thursday. She returned from work shortly after the shooting.

"That was my neighbor I had known for 13 years," she said. "I just feel really bad for (his wife) and the kids."

Gotiear-Meyer said Gee was a quiet man who was unemployed due to a disability. He lived at the home with his wife, father, two daughters and a grandchild.

"He was pretty quiet; the whole family kind of (kept) to themselves," she said. "I thought he was a good neighbor. … In the summertime, when my son was younger, Al was always working on trucks, and my son always had some raggedy piece of car he was consulting Al about."

In the hours after the shooting, police cordoned off Gee's home — a green, two-story residence with peeling paint — as well as several adjoining yards. More than a dozen police officers, detectives and supervisors descended on the home.

Kirk said police do not yet know what led to Gee's actions. The man has no history of suicidal or violent behavior that police are aware of, the chief said.

"Sometimes things occur that make no sense at the time, and hopefully we can make some sense of this," Kirk said.

Three weeks ago, police arrested Gee at his home after executing a search warrant, and he was later charged with felony marijuana possession and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, court records show. His only criminal conviction in Wisconsin was in 1997 on a charge of misdemeanor marijuana possession, records show.

Kirk said the officer involved in the shooting has been placed on an alternative assignment. The officer went home early Thursday and will meet with a debriefing team that convenes after officers are involved in traumatic events, the chief said.

"My concern … today was to immediately make sure that this officer's concerns are met, because this is very traumatic to this officer, as well as, of course, the family of this victim," Kirk said. "This is not a great day for us, but at the same time, our officers have to do what is necessary."

The officer, a member of the department's Emergency Response Team, has not been involved in a shooting before, Kirk said.

Gee's home is several hundred yards from U.S. Grant Elementary School, which borders the intersection of National and Sixth Street.

Principal Martha Steinbruecker said the school was alerted to the incident by a neighbor about 20 minutes after the shooting. Students outside for recess were brought in for about 10 minutes until Sheboygan police advised school officials the situation was under control, she said.

Mark Cartner, 47, who has lived two doors down from Gee for two years, described the incident as unnerving. He was on a bicycle ride when the shooting occurred.

"It's normally pretty quiet around here. That's why we moved here," Cartner said. "Pretty scary, though, when it comes in your backyard."

The city's last officer-involved shooting occurred Aug. 8, 2006. Officer Jim Priebe shot and killed 44-year-old Kenneth Brulla as Brulla stabbed his estranged wife, Dawn Brulla, in a garage loft at 934 Swift Ave.

[dead0man]

I hate suicide by cop.  If you don't have the balls to live anymore, don't make somebody else live with the fact that they had to kill you.  Do it yourself.

(and for God's sake, don't leave a bloody mess for your wife and/or kids to find.  You're already being a selfish prick, at least do it with some consideration for your loved ones.)

[Јas]

Any particular reason for posting this?

[John Dibble]

Unfortunate, but I don't see how else this really could have gone down. The guy pointed a gun at a cop and refused to stop pointing it - I'd have shot him too if I was in that situation.

[opebo]

(and for God's sake, don't leave a bloody mess for your wife and/or kids to find.  You're already being a selfish prick, at least do it with some consideration for your loved ones.)

If they're not lovable/loving enough to make you want to live, I can't imagine why you'ld be concern what befalls them after you're dead...

I've always felt that it is amazing how few people kill themselves.

Unfortunate, but I don't see how else this really could have gone down. The guy pointed a gun at a cop and refused to stop pointing it - I'd have shot him too if I was in that situation.

If the Police State had not intruded, its minion would not have had to shoot the man.

[John Dibble]

Unfortunate, but I don't see how else this really could have gone down. The guy pointed a gun at a cop and refused to stop pointing it - I'd have shot him too if I was in that situation.

If the Police State had not intruded, its minion would not have had to shoot the man.

Right, letting a mentally unstable man with a gun ride around the neighborhood to do who knows what would clearly have been the preferable. Had the headline been "Neighborhood man kills five and self, police do nothing" you would be bitching about the incompetence of the police.

[opebo]

Unfortunate, but I don't see how else this really could have gone down. The guy pointed a gun at a cop and refused to stop pointing it - I'd have shot him too if I was in that situation.

If the Police State had not intruded, its minion would not have had to shoot the man.

Right, letting a mentally unstable man with a gun ride around the neighborhood to do who knows what would clearly have been the preferable. Had the headline been "Neighborhood man kills five and self, police do nothing" you would be bitching about the incompetence of the police.

I have never complained about the incompetence of the police.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Good... the guy should have been flayed alive to the point of near death and then fried in a vat of oil, then hung out on the street to act as a deterrent.  The birds would enjoy the crunchy treat and the law and order Republicans would chant in unison "YAY FOR LAW AND ORDER!!!  JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED!!!"

[John Dibble]

Unfortunate, but I don't see how else this really could have gone down. The guy pointed a gun at a cop and refused to stop pointing it - I'd have shot him too if I was in that situation.

If the Police State had not intruded, its minion would not have had to shoot the man.

Right, letting a mentally unstable man with a gun ride around the neighborhood to do who knows what would clearly have been the preferable. Had the headline been "Neighborhood man kills five and self, police do nothing" you would be bitching about the incompetence of the police.

I have never complained about the incompetence of the police.

And opebo once again misses the point entirely.

[Keystone Phil]

Good... the guy should have been flayed alive to the point of near death and then fried in a vat of oil, then hung out on the street to act as a deterrent.  The birds would enjoy the crunchy treat and the law and order Republicans would chant in unison "YAY FOR LAW AND ORDER!!!  JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED!!!"

I'm seriously asking this: Do you ever contribute anything aside from hack attacks?

[Ban my account ffs!]

Good... the guy should have been flayed alive to the point of near death and then fried in a vat of oil, then hung out on the street to act as a deterrent.  The birds would enjoy the crunchy treat and the law and order Republicans would chant in unison "YAY FOR LAW AND ORDER!!!  JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED!!!"

I'm seriously asking this: Do you ever contribute anything aside from hack attacks?

And I'm seriously asking you this:  Does my soot-black sarcasm fly over your head or are you just finding a way to insult the quality of my posts?

[dead0man]

I love threads like this.  No need to make fun of the lefties as they take care of it themselves.

[Jake]

Why the cop didn't shoot him in the leg is the mystery to me.

[opebo]

I love threads like this.  No need to make fun of the lefties as they take care of it themselves.

Nor is there any need for we 'lefties' to point out how amusing it is that you 'libertarians' invariably love State killing.

[Keystone Phil]

Good... the guy should have been flayed alive to the point of near death and then fried in a vat of oil, then hung out on the street to act as a deterrent.  The birds would enjoy the crunchy treat and the law and order Republicans would chant in unison "YAY FOR LAW AND ORDER!!!  JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED!!!"

I'm seriously asking this: Do you ever contribute anything aside from hack attacks?

And I'm seriously asking you this:  Does my soot-black sarcasm fly over your head or are you just finding a way to insult the quality of my posts?

How am I supposed to detect your sarcasm on the internet when so many of your posts simply attack the GOP and nothing else?

[Sensei]

Good... the guy should have been flayed alive to the point of near death and then fried in a vat of oil, then hung out on the street to act as a deterrent.  The birds would enjoy the crunchy treat and the law and order Republicans would chant in unison "YAY FOR LAW AND ORDER!!!  JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED!!!"

I'm seriously asking this: Do you ever contribute anything aside from hack attacks?

And I'm seriously asking you this:  Does my soot-black sarcasm fly over your head or are you just finding a way to insult the quality of my posts?

How am I supposed to detect your sarcasm on the internet when so many of your posts simply attack the GOP and nothing else?

Bear in mind, that's Snowguy, not BRTD.

[Keystone Phil]

Good... the guy should have been flayed alive to the point of near death and then fried in a vat of oil, then hung out on the street to act as a deterrent.  The birds would enjoy the crunchy treat and the law and order Republicans would chant in unison "YAY FOR LAW AND ORDER!!!  JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED!!!"

I'm seriously asking this: Do you ever contribute anything aside from hack attacks?

And I'm seriously asking you this:  Does my soot-black sarcasm fly over your head or are you just finding a way to insult the quality of my posts?

How am I supposed to detect your sarcasm on the internet when so many of your posts simply attack the GOP and nothing else?

Bear in mind, that's Snowguy, not BRTD.

I know who it is.

[AkSaber]

The guy aimed a firearm at the officer. This is self defense, plain and simple.

Why the cop didn't shoot him in the leg is the mystery to me.

What would you do if someone aimed a loaded weapon at you? Wounded people can still fire guns. From the sounds of it, incapacitating this guy wouldn't have stopped him.

[Ban my account ffs!]

The guy aimed a firearm at the officer. This is self defense, plain and simple.

Why the cop didn't shoot him in the leg is the mystery to me.

What would you do if someone aimed a loaded weapon at you? Wounded people can still fire guns. From the sounds of it, incapacitating this guy wouldn't have stopped him.

I agree.  Besides, what does the suicidal guy have to lose?  Often times, people ready to take their own lives are ready to take others as well, if necessary.

Now if the suicidal guy was pointing his gun at himself and the police officer shot him, I'd find the officer's actions criminal.

[Jake]

What would you do if someone aimed a loaded weapon at you? Wounded people can still fire guns. From the sounds of it, incapacitating this guy wouldn't have stopped him.

I'll assume you've fired a rifle before. Forgive me if that's not true, but your post implies it. I know I'd be unable to fire an aimed shot with a .22 if I was on the ground after my knee has been destroyed. Or shoot him in the elbow, etc. There's no need for a head shot in such a situation.

[AkSaber]

What would you do if someone aimed a loaded weapon at you? Wounded people can still fire guns. From the sounds of it, incapacitating this guy wouldn't have stopped him.

I'll assume you've fired a rifle before. Forgive me if that's not true, but your post implies it. I know I'd be unable to fire an aimed shot with a .22 if I was on the ground after my knee has been destroyed. Or shoot him in the elbow, etc. There's no need for a head shot in such a situation.

Oh yes, I've fired a rifle before. It's like an Alaskan tradition.

I know if I were shot in the leg I'd stop whatever I was doing. The suicidal guy seemed too determined to die to surrender. True, being clipped in the leg would probably have reduced his accuracy to almost nothing, he still could have thrown shots at the officer and one of them could have hit him. I can understand why the officer killed the man. I probably would have done the same.

[dead0man]

I love threads like this.  No need to make fun of the lefties as they take care of it themselves.

Nor is there any need for we 'lefties' to point out how amusing it is that you 'libertarians' invariably love State killing.

Funny!

[AkSaber]

I agree.  Besides, what does the suicidal guy have to lose?  Often times, people ready to take their own lives are ready to take others as well, if necessary.

Now if the suicidal guy was pointing his gun at himself and the police officer shot him, I'd find the officer's actions criminal.

Yeah, I think he would have shot someone to provoke a response from the police.

But yeah, if he was just holding a gun to his face, lay off the trigger.

[John Dibble]

What would you do if someone aimed a loaded weapon at you? Wounded people can still fire guns. From the sounds of it, incapacitating this guy wouldn't have stopped him.

I'll assume you've fired a rifle before. Forgive me if that's not true, but your post implies it. I know I'd be unable to fire an aimed shot with a .22 if I was on the ground after my knee has been destroyed. Or shoot him in the elbow, etc. There's no need for a head shot in such a situation.

Cops are trained to shoot to kill - ie head or preferably torso - in situations where weapons are being pointed at them, IIRC. There's a few reasons behind this. The first obviously is that attempts to incapacitate by shooting the leg or arm may not actually incapacitate the target. You might not be able to fire a rifle when shot in the leg, but someone else might be able to, so they don't take that chance. Another reason is that the arms and legs are more difficult to hit outside of really close range due to size and the ability to reposition them much more easily. The head and especially the torso are larger and more difficult to reposition to avoid a high speed object like a bullet. Furthermore, in life and death situations hesitation can cost you your life, so training to shoot to kill helps remove hesitation in such situations.

[Jake]

The question is why they are trained to shoot to kill. I accept the fact that shooting someone in the torso is easier than the arm, but the idea that it's easier to shoot someone in the head than the leg is not something I'll buy. Compare the sizes on yourself. Does either present a better target? Anyway, I'm not a cop, nor are you. I've never been faced with this situation, and I doubt you have. I just find it extremely unsettling that police officers will think to kill first when confronted with a dangerous situation.