This incident happened last week in Rotterdam, NY. This is 1 town over from me and I wanted to bring it up for discussion. Its very sad as the man killed, William Clark, was a former military service member suffering from PTSD, among other mental health issues. I've linked the articles below but I'll give a brief summary of events. This incident also illustrates that Tasers do not always work as they require both barbs to attach to the target. Even at such short range as several feet, there is no guarantee a Taser barb will penetrate thick clothing. As the situation rapidly escalated, lethal force became necessary. The officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing and their will be no further investigation.

 

William's mother called Police late Sunday morning, she said her son was breaking furniture, and 3 officers subsequently responded to the scene. The officers entered the home and found William hiding behind a bedroom door. The officers told him to drop any weapons and come out of his hiding place. William then stabbed an officer in the chest and shoulder with a knife but the officers protective vest prevented any injury. William then slashed another officer in the head. The officer who was stabbed used a Taser, but one of the prongs caught in William's sweater and the other one glanced off or missed.' This officer could have justifiably used lethal force but chose not to. The officer who was slashed in the head, then shot William which killed him.

 

A relative of William's family said they recently moved to Rotterdam, and they had prior incidents with police regarding his behavior. Those incidents had ended without violence.

 

Rotterdam Police Chief James Hamilton stated, “They were not obligated to use nonlethal force, but they did,” “They tried to, you know. It did not incapacitate the individual, so they had no choice.”

 

http://news10.com/2016/04/10/police-involved-shooting-in-rotterdam/

 

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Rotterdam-police-ID-officers-in-fatal-shooting-7251223.php

That is so sad.  Someone dead, people lost a family member, a cop has to live with having killed someone, all around awful.  

 

I don't expect anyone to respond with less than lethal force when in defense of their life or another's.   Yeah, the police have vests.  That doesn't make them invulnerable.  That the first officer to get stabbed chose to respond with a taser instead of a gun is good, maybe he still thought he could take this guy down without anyone getting hurt.  The slash on the other officer's face could have been a knife in his eye instead.  Can't blame the guy for shooting at someone that's just cut his face.

 

Has there been a noticeable effect on the community? 

Has there been a noticeable effect on the community?

 

Most people I have personally talked to said it was a very unfortunate event. They seem to understand that it was sad and tragic, but that the police reacted appropriately. Online discussions are a completely different matter. The same people yelling disarm the police are the ones who say it every time a police officer fires their weapon. Regardless if it was 100% justifiable.

I'm the worst person to comment on something like this. There is more to this story than we will ever hear, and it's not up to me to pass judgement on the police, the family, the Marine Corps, or the doctors. If I was the cop that he stabbed... he would have been dead sooner. I believe "mental illness' and "PTSD" are used too much as an excuse for bad behavior. They should just say the guy suffered from a chronic case of being an "asshole".

I only live an hour away from Rotterdam @@DeathMerchant... This is an unfortunate event that had to take place

Universal law, you raise a weapon, you forfeit your right to life. Had it been me, like lys, he'd have had new air holes in him before he could get the second strike off. If it is true that mental disease was the cause of these behaviors, then it only illustrates that this vet could not get the care he needed from a the government that promised it to him.

Universal law, you raise a weapon, you forfeit your right to life. Had it been me, like lys, he'd have had new air holes in him before he could get the second strike off. If it is true that mental disease was the cause of these behaviors, then it only illustrates that this vet could not get the care he needed from a the government that promised it to him.

Or, potentially, did not seek it purposely for other reasons.