These Situations Go Wrong A Lot and Often The Police Have Poor Choices

Frequently, the police are responding to a call for help from a family with a mentally ill member.  Sometimes the police are properly afraid for their lives, or at least, you can see why, without any prior knowledge of the situation, they have good reason to be afraid. 

This situation from the January 5, 2014 Daily Caller has a really chilling statement that, if true, qualifies at least as manslaughter:

Two North Carolina parents are in shock after local police shot and killed their 18-year-old son in their own home, while they watched helplessly.

The family called police because they were worried about their son, Keith Vidal, who is schizophrenic and suffers from depression, according to local news. Vidal, armed with a small screwdriver, was apparently having a psychotic episode. Mark Wilsey, Vidal’s father, called the authorities to help deal with the situation.

An officer from the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office and another from the Boiling Spring Lakes police department showed up to the house soon after. Eventually, a third officer from the Southport police department entered the home as well, and ordered the use of tasers to subdue Vidal. According to Wilsey, Vidal was pinned on the ground by two of the officers when a third said, “we don’t have time for this,” and shot Vidal, killing him.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/05/parents-call-police-for-help-cops-show-up-and-kill-their-18-year-old-son/#ixzz2pgaE1PEU

I really want to believe that Wilsey in some way misunderstood what was said, or has left something out.  The alternative -- that an officer shot and killed someone who was pinned to the ground -- is too shocking to accept without more evidence.

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