UPDATE
Standoffs highlight Shasta County’s suicide problem
Deputies: Suicidal veteran sent to hospital after waving machete in Shingletown
Record Searchlight
Redding.com
May 6, 2016
Shasta County Sheriff's deputies early Friday confronted a 26-year-old man - who they later identified as a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder - after he was spotted waving a machete as passerbys in Shingletown, they said.
Dispatchers just before 1 a.m. received report of the man waving the machete near Reed's Market on Highway 44.
Deputies responded to the area to find the man walking along the highway. They tried to talk to him but he kept walking, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The man was then seen holding a machete, at which point deputies ordered him to stop walking and put the machete down, deputies said.
The man complied with that order and another to kneel on the ground, deputy Jon Ruiz said. He then pulled a knife to his neck and told deputies he wrote a letter which they took to mean a suicide note, Ruiz said.
read more here
Showing posts with label police standoff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label police standoff. Show all posts
Friday, May 6, 2016
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Fort Hood Soldier Surrendered After Standoff
Standoff Ends Peacefully after Four Hours
KAGS
May 02, 2016
UPDATE -- The man in the home surrendered Monday afternoon after four hours of negotiations. The man in the home is a Fort Hood soldier. No word on what, if any, charges the man will face.
KILLEEN -- Police and SWAT team are working a standoff situation at a residence in Killeen. read more here
KAGS
May 02, 2016
UPDATE -- The man in the home surrendered Monday afternoon after four hours of negotiations. The man in the home is a Fort Hood soldier. No word on what, if any, charges the man will face.
KILLEEN -- Police and SWAT team are working a standoff situation at a residence in Killeen. read more here
Special Forces Soldier Taken For Medical Evaluation After Armory Standoff
Police release name of Special Forces soldier in barricade at National Guard armory
The Baltimore Sun
Ian Duncan
May 3, 2016
(XXXXXX) 43, of Virginia, allegedly tripped an alarm at the Gunpowder Military Reservation at about 11 a.m. Monday, starting a standoff with heavily armed police that lasted several hours.
He was taken into custody without incident and released on $7,500 bail, online court records show. He could not be reached for comment on Thursday, and had no attorney listed in online records.
Police responded in force to the facility on Notchcliff Road, unsure if (XXXXXX) had access to the weapons stored there.
read more here
**Name removed**
The Baltimore Sun
Ian Duncan
May 3, 2016
(XXXXXX) turned out to be unarmed and did not have access to the weapons, which were locked with a code, a police spokeswoman said. He eventually agreed to come out of the building and was sent for a medical evaluation.Baltimore County police released the name of the Special Forces soldier who is accused of trespassing at an armory in Glen Arm on Monday.
(XXXXXX) 43, of Virginia, allegedly tripped an alarm at the Gunpowder Military Reservation at about 11 a.m. Monday, starting a standoff with heavily armed police that lasted several hours.
He was taken into custody without incident and released on $7,500 bail, online court records show. He could not be reached for comment on Thursday, and had no attorney listed in online records.
Police responded in force to the facility on Notchcliff Road, unsure if (XXXXXX) had access to the weapons stored there.
read more here
**Name removed**
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Was Veteran Released From VA After Standoff Too Quickly?
Female veteran in crisis enough to cause a seven hour standoff yet she was only in the VA for less than a week afterwards?
Standoff suspect charged after quick release from VA hospital
News Herald
Jon Stinchcomb, Reporter
April 15, 2016
After being taking into custody, Muirhead was taken to a Veterans Administration Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to receive treatment. She reportedly was released from the hospital within less than a week.PORT CLINTON - The woman alleged to have caused a seven-hour standoff with police last week has been charged with two misdemeanors despite initial statements from police that charges would not be filed.
Melissa Muirhead, 30, of Port Clinton, was charged Thursday with one count of aggravated menacing and one count of inducing panic, both first-degree misdemeanors.
According to authorities, Muirhead is a military veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The Port Clinton Police Department and Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office previously responded to multiple calls to her home for similar welfare checks in recent years.
Because there were no injuries from the incident, Port Clinton police Chief Rob Hickman initially said he did not expect charges to be filed.
However, after detectives conferred with assistant prosecutor Dave Boldt, the two misdemeanor charges were filed in Ottawa County Municipal Court.
According to officers from Port Clinton Police Department, the hope is that the charges will result in some form of court-ordered treatment so an incident does not happen again.
read more here
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Female Iraq Veteran Getting Help After Standoff with Police
UPDATE April 7, 2016
Officials: Standoff subject has PTSD
Officials: Standoff subject has PTSD
Officials reported Muirhead is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and was suffering from PTSD, a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress occurring as a result of injury or severe psychological shock, typically involving disturbance of sleep and constant vivid recall of the experience.
Police: Woman in Port Clinton standoff is Iraq War veteran
Toledo Blade
April 7, 2016
PORT CLINTON — Authorities have identified a 31-year-old Iraq War veteran as a woman who kept law enforcement agents at bay in a nearly seven-hour standoff in the city Wednesday night.
Melissa Jo Muirhead, an Army veteran, was taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to Port Clinton police.
read more here
From NBC 24
Officials say Muirhead is known to police and is believed to be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Charges are not likely, according to Chief Hickman.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Disabled Veteran Sues After Police Siege Led to Attempted Suicide
Va. Man Says Police Siege Led to Suicide Attempt
Courthouse News
By Charly Himmel
March 18, 2016
RICHMOND, Va. (CN) - A disabled veteran claims in court that an entirely unwarranted siege at his home by law enforcement officers caused him to try to kill himself.
In a complaint filed in Richmond City Circuit Court, Ronald Elwin Wells Jr. says he was home alone with his dog and watching a baseball game on Sept. 16, 2013, when a police officer showed up at his door, saying he'd been asked to check on Wells by the "welfare department."
Wells says he told the officer he wasn't on welfare, and that in any event, he was fine.
The officer left, and Wells says he went back to watching the game, then promptly fell asleep.
Sometime around 7 p.m. that, the complaint says, Wells was awakened by state troopers who were knocking at his door.
"Wells started to be afraid because of all this attention he was getting for no apparent reason," the complaint says.
He did not answer his door, and he didn't answer it later when, he says "a number of State Troopers or other police type people came in fatigues with helmets and face shields with long guns in their hands."
Wells says in an attempt to remain calm, he went back to watching television. Two hours later, however, he heard someone calling him over a loudspeaker.
At this point, the complaint says, "Wells became really scared."
read more here
Courthouse News
By Charly Himmel
March 18, 2016
"Wells was not a criminal but it seemed that he was under a brutal military type attack from the police and deputies," the complaint says. "He decided to end it right there and die by his own hand before he'd be taken in this insane situation."
After one failed attempt, Wells says he managed to shoot himself in the chest.
RICHMOND, Va. (CN) - A disabled veteran claims in court that an entirely unwarranted siege at his home by law enforcement officers caused him to try to kill himself.
In a complaint filed in Richmond City Circuit Court, Ronald Elwin Wells Jr. says he was home alone with his dog and watching a baseball game on Sept. 16, 2013, when a police officer showed up at his door, saying he'd been asked to check on Wells by the "welfare department."
Wells says he told the officer he wasn't on welfare, and that in any event, he was fine.
The officer left, and Wells says he went back to watching the game, then promptly fell asleep.
Sometime around 7 p.m. that, the complaint says, Wells was awakened by state troopers who were knocking at his door.
"Wells started to be afraid because of all this attention he was getting for no apparent reason," the complaint says.
He did not answer his door, and he didn't answer it later when, he says "a number of State Troopers or other police type people came in fatigues with helmets and face shields with long guns in their hands."
Wells says in an attempt to remain calm, he went back to watching television. Two hours later, however, he heard someone calling him over a loudspeaker.
At this point, the complaint says, "Wells became really scared."
read more here
Friday, March 18, 2016
Fifteen Hour Standoff With Veteran--He Lived--Faces Charges?
Armed standoff suspect formally charged
Augusta Chronicle
By Abby Lennon
Staff Writer
March 18, 2016
The man involved earlier this month in a 15-hour police standoff near Harlem High School, was booked into the Columbia County Detention Center Wednesday night.
Randall Edward Seaton, 27, a military veteran said to suffer post traumatic stress disorder, had been under medical evaluation for more than a week at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon. He has been charged with four counts of aggravated assault, criminal damage to property in the second degree and reckless conduct.
Seaton surrendered to deputies after he held officers at bay for more than 15 hours during the standoff that began March 6 and lasted until the early morning hours of March 7.
read more here
Augusta Chronicle
By Abby Lennon
Staff Writer
March 18, 2016
Seaton "told deputies he had become extremely upset after finding out about the death of his best friend."
The man involved earlier this month in a 15-hour police standoff near Harlem High School, was booked into the Columbia County Detention Center Wednesday night.
Randall Edward Seaton, 27, a military veteran said to suffer post traumatic stress disorder, had been under medical evaluation for more than a week at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon. He has been charged with four counts of aggravated assault, criminal damage to property in the second degree and reckless conduct.
Seaton surrendered to deputies after he held officers at bay for more than 15 hours during the standoff that began March 6 and lasted until the early morning hours of March 7.
read more here
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Palm Bay Standoff Leaves Veteran-Ex-Police Officer Dead
Armed man, 39, shot and killed by Palm Bay officer
WFTV News
Updated: Mar 1, 2016
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating after a Palm Bay police officer shot and killed a man.
Police say a man inside the home was threatening to shoot three people doing construction at a nearby home on Mariposa Drive.
When police arrived, they say the 39-year-old man refused to come out of the home and a standoff began.
A neighbor told Eyewitness News the man was upset that the construction crew was working and making noise.
read more here
WFTV News
Updated: Mar 1, 2016
His girlfriend, who asked not to be identified, told Channel 9 the man is a former law enforcement officer and used to be in the military.
Police say a man inside the home was threatening to shoot three people doing construction at a nearby home on Mariposa Drive.
When police arrived, they say the 39-year-old man refused to come out of the home and a standoff began.
A neighbor told Eyewitness News the man was upset that the construction crew was working and making noise.
read more here
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Officer Sues for Promotion After Iraq Veteran Killed During Standoff?
Officer in controversial shooting sues for not getting promotion
Albuquerque Journal
Ryan Boetel
January 12, 2016
Albuquerque Journal
Ryan Boetel
January 12, 2016
“This officer’s actions involved a shooting incident that cost the city more than $8 million, was a major subject of the DOJ investigation and a civil lawsuit. The findings and final judgment from the courts must be considered for future promotion,” Eden said in a statement on Tuesday.
The stop led to a nine-minute standoff with Ellis, who was pointing a gun at his own head. Ellis, 25, suffered from post traumatic stress disorder after serving in the Iraq War as an infantryman. Lampiris-Tremba fatally shot Ellis in the neck. He told investigators that Ellis had “twitched” and later said in the court that Ellis had taken a step toward police.you can read the rest here
Mental Health Crisis Leaves Decorated Veteran Fighting for Life
Kalispell shooting victim is decorated Army veteran who survived bomb blast
The Missoulian
VINCE DEVLIN
January 14, 2016
KALISPELL – The man who allegedly aimed a rife at two Kalispell police officers Tuesday before they shot him has been identified as a decorated Afghanistan and Iraq war veteran who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a bomb blast.
Ryan Pengelly, 30, was listed in critical condition at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, where he underwent surgery Tuesday following the incident.
The Missoulian
VINCE DEVLIN
January 14, 2016
KALISPELL – The man who allegedly aimed a rife at two Kalispell police officers Tuesday before they shot him has been identified as a decorated Afghanistan and Iraq war veteran who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a bomb blast.
Ryan Pengelly, 30, was listed in critical condition at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, where he underwent surgery Tuesday following the incident.
The policemen had responded to a residence on Looking Glass Avenue after a report that a woman in the home had made comments that she was suicidal and homicidal, and “that her son had multiple weapons in the house and she had access to them,” according to a Kalispell Police Department news release from Chief Roger Nasset.
read more here
Friday, December 18, 2015
PTSD Disabled Veteran in Wheelchair Charged After Police Standoff?
Baraboo man charged in October standoff
Baraboo News Republic
Tim Damo
December 11, 2015
A Baraboo man has been charged in relation to an armed standoff with police that took place in late October.
The Sauk County District Attorney’s Office filed felony charges Tuesday against 55-year-old Kenji K. Kakugawa for failing to comply with officers who attempted to take him into custody and for pointing a gun at an officer.
According to the criminal complaint, Kakugawa is a wheelchair-bound veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Police were called to his Baraboo home Oct. 21 after an employee with a veteran affairs hospital in Madison notified authorities that he was suicidal and had a weapon.
read more here
Baraboo News Republic
Tim Damo
December 11, 2015
A Baraboo man has been charged in relation to an armed standoff with police that took place in late October.
The Sauk County District Attorney’s Office filed felony charges Tuesday against 55-year-old Kenji K. Kakugawa for failing to comply with officers who attempted to take him into custody and for pointing a gun at an officer.
According to the criminal complaint, Kakugawa is a wheelchair-bound veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Police were called to his Baraboo home Oct. 21 after an employee with a veteran affairs hospital in Madison notified authorities that he was suicidal and had a weapon.
read more here
Monday, December 7, 2015
Marine Died During Standoff in Massachusetts
Marine identified following Swansea standoff
NBC 10 NEWS
BY TONY GUGLIOTTA
DECEMBER 7TH 2015
SWANSEA, Mass. — A 24-year-old Marine from Swansea died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound following an altercation with another Swansea resident who police described as his former girlfriend.
The Bristol County district attorney on Monday identified the man as Brandon Leonardo.
Police were alerted to an address on Old Warren Road for reports of a disturbance where Leonardo allegedly destroyed some property and fired one shot over the head of two people at that residence.
Officials said Leonardo told his former girlfriend that he would get into a firefight with police if they came to arrest him.
read more here
NBC 10 NEWS
BY TONY GUGLIOTTA
DECEMBER 7TH 2015
SWANSEA, Mass. — A 24-year-old Marine from Swansea died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound following an altercation with another Swansea resident who police described as his former girlfriend.
Police were alerted to an address on Old Warren Road for reports of a disturbance where Leonardo allegedly destroyed some property and fired one shot over the head of two people at that residence.
Officials said Leonardo told his former girlfriend that he would get into a firefight with police if they came to arrest him.
read more here
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Police Standoff in NY with Vietnam Veteran
Trump Village Building On Lockdown While Police Standoff With ‘Vietnam Vet’
Sheepshead Bites
BY ALEX ELLEFSON
OCTOBER 15, 2015
The NYPD say they received a call just before 5pm that an emotionally disturbed 69-year-old man had barricaded himself in his apartment at the 23-story building on 3000 Ocean Parkway. Cops swarmed the area and were eventually able to gain access to the apartment and take the man into custody. He was sent to Coney Island Hospital, according to the NYPD.
Police could not confirm the man was armed.
Steven Baker, who lives two floors above the apartment where the standoff took place, said his neighbor was a Vietnam veteran.
“He’s a good man, but he’s sick. He is a Vietnam vet and he has PTSD,” Baker said. “We’ve talked sometimes. He’s polite and curious. We talk about sports.”
read more here
If you think any of this is new, here are a few reminders of how long this has been going on. This was reported a year before I new what PTSD was.
It happened in Pensacola in July of 1997 and reported by the Star Banner. It happened for decades and that is the worst news in all of this. Back then there was very little being done on PTSD. To arrive in a time and place when some think all this is new, they simply don't notice that none of it is new. All of these links are live plus a lot more. All they had to do was look for them.
Sheepshead Bites
BY ALEX ELLEFSON
OCTOBER 15, 2015
A truck from the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit parked outside 3000 Ocean Parkway.
(Photo: Alex Ellefson / Sheepshead Bites)
An entire building in Trump Village was on lockdown for more than three hours Wednesday night while police were in a standoff with a disturbed man on the 16th floor, according to police and witnesses.
The NYPD say they received a call just before 5pm that an emotionally disturbed 69-year-old man had barricaded himself in his apartment at the 23-story building on 3000 Ocean Parkway. Cops swarmed the area and were eventually able to gain access to the apartment and take the man into custody. He was sent to Coney Island Hospital, according to the NYPD.
Police could not confirm the man was armed.
Steven Baker, who lives two floors above the apartment where the standoff took place, said his neighbor was a Vietnam veteran.
“He’s a good man, but he’s sick. He is a Vietnam vet and he has PTSD,” Baker said. “We’ve talked sometimes. He’s polite and curious. We talk about sports.”
read more here
If you think any of this is new, here are a few reminders of how long this has been going on. This was reported a year before I new what PTSD was.
Veteran Acquitted in Assault
New York Times
Published: August 23, 1981
McKINNEY, Tex., Aug. 22 (UPI) - A 33-year-old Vietnam veteran who blamed a combat flashback for a standoff with the police in which he fired a shotgun from a window of his home has been found not guilty of aggravated assault by reason of insanity. Michael Ashley, who served in the Air Force, said the verdict yesterday was a victory for Vietnam veterans who suffered from trauma caused by the war. His five-hour standoff with the police occurred Oct. 17, 1980.
It happened in Pensacola in July of 1997 and reported by the Star Banner. It happened for decades and that is the worst news in all of this. Back then there was very little being done on PTSD. To arrive in a time and place when some think all this is new, they simply don't notice that none of it is new. All of these links are live plus a lot more. All they had to do was look for them.
Vietnam Vet Ends Standoff After 14 Hours
Associated Press
March 09, 1998
WACO, Texas — A Vietnam veteran armed with a rifle crashed his car through a gate at a Veterans Affairs office Sunday and held police off for 14 hours before giving up.
Jason Leigh, 48, who police said was upset over problems with his veterans benefits, left the office about 6 p.m. PST.
He walked out shirtless and with his hands up, ending a daylong standoff with police that forced hundreds of residents out of homes near the Veterans Affairs Regional Center.
Leigh, a Vietnam veteran, according to family members, broke into the center about 3:45 a.m. PST, Waco police spokeswoman Marcia Bourque said.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Another PTSD Iraq Veteran Killed By Police During Standoff
Fiancee believes Edgell fired at officers to end own life
Times Daily
By Bernie Delinski Staff Writer
October 7, 2015
But Braitling said many more things were troubling her fiance, who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, stemming from his U.S. Army service in the Middle East.
“I knew he’s had depression and anxiety and PTSD,” Braitling said.
In the end, she believes Edgell’s distress was too much for him to cope with and led to Sunday’s incident in which Edgell held a handgun to his head on the Tennessee Valley Authority Reservation.
Police tried to talk with Edgell, but he turned the gun on the officers and fired shots, according to reports. Police returned fire, striking Edgell, who died later that day at Shoals Hospital in Muscle Shoals.
Braitling said she believes Edgell’s emotional state at that moment was compounded by the realization he had landed himself in such trouble.
“I think he did it on purpose, to be honest, because he knew if he fired at them, then they’d have to fire back,” she said. “I don’t think he wanted to go to prison. If he had, he’d have ended up killing himself within a week.”
Times Daily
By Bernie Delinski Staff Writer
October 7, 2015
TUSCUMBIA — The last time Tiffany Braitling spoke with Eric David Edgell, he was upset about the fact his work schedule afforded little time to see her.
Tiffany Braitling, left, said she thought fiancee Eric Edgell
suffered from PTSD after his military stints in the Middle East.
But Braitling said many more things were troubling her fiance, who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, stemming from his U.S. Army service in the Middle East.
“I knew he’s had depression and anxiety and PTSD,” Braitling said.
In the end, she believes Edgell’s distress was too much for him to cope with and led to Sunday’s incident in which Edgell held a handgun to his head on the Tennessee Valley Authority Reservation.
Police tried to talk with Edgell, but he turned the gun on the officers and fired shots, according to reports. Police returned fire, striking Edgell, who died later that day at Shoals Hospital in Muscle Shoals.
Braitling said she believes Edgell’s emotional state at that moment was compounded by the realization he had landed himself in such trouble.
“I think he did it on purpose, to be honest, because he knew if he fired at them, then they’d have to fire back,” she said. “I don’t think he wanted to go to prison. If he had, he’d have ended up killing himself within a week.”
“We didn’t really talk about it much, because it upset him so much,” Braitling said. “The only time we had talked about it and he could actually tell me anything, he told me he was taking some supplies somewhere with other Humvees and this friend he had gone through everything with — boot camp and all — they went over a mine and it blew up and he saw his friend’s head roll down his back.”
read more here
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Deputy Rudy Mirelez Remains in Critical Condition
Mariposa deputy injured in shootout identified
Family of injured deputy issues brief statement; requests privacy
Merced Sun Star
Sun-Star staff
October 4, 2015
A Mariposa County deputy sheriff shot in a gunfight last week, allegedly with a Merced man, was identified Sunday.
Deputy Rudy Mirelez, 39, remained in critical condition Sunday at a Modesto hospital, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Officials said Mirelez is expected to “undergo many more surgeries on his road to recovery.”
In a brief statement issued Sunday, Mirelez’s wife, Christine, thanked the sheriff’s offices of both Mariposa and Stanislaus counties for the “round-the-clock support for Rudy” and the outpouring of community support since the incident Thursday morning.
“Rudy’s recovery is our biggest concern and we would like to ask for your continued thoughts and prayers and request that you respect our privacy as we continue to process this tragic event and support our husband and father,” Christine Mirelez said in the statement.
Brian Ballasch, 35, of Merced, has been accused of shooting at four deputies, including Mirelez, around 6 a.m. Thursday on Highway 49, south of Mariposa. Ballasch has been described by deputies as a U.S. Marine Corps veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He also was wounded during the incident and is expected to recover.
He has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a peace officer.
read more here
Too many lives shattered
Family of injured deputy issues brief statement; requests privacy
Merced Sun Star
Sun-Star staff
October 4, 2015
A Mariposa County deputy sheriff shot in a gunfight last week, allegedly with a Merced man, was identified Sunday.
Deputy Rudy Mirelez, 39, remained in critical condition Sunday at a Modesto hospital, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Officials said Mirelez is expected to “undergo many more surgeries on his road to recovery.”
In a brief statement issued Sunday, Mirelez’s wife, Christine, thanked the sheriff’s offices of both Mariposa and Stanislaus counties for the “round-the-clock support for Rudy” and the outpouring of community support since the incident Thursday morning.
“Rudy’s recovery is our biggest concern and we would like to ask for your continued thoughts and prayers and request that you respect our privacy as we continue to process this tragic event and support our husband and father,” Christine Mirelez said in the statement.
Brian Ballasch, 35, of Merced, has been accused of shooting at four deputies, including Mirelez, around 6 a.m. Thursday on Highway 49, south of Mariposa. Ballasch has been described by deputies as a U.S. Marine Corps veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He also was wounded during the incident and is expected to recover.
He has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a peace officer.
read more here
Too many lives shattered
Too Many Lives Have Been Shattered After More Efforts Have Failed
When Do We Change The Outcome For Veterans?
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 4, 2015
There is a price being paid all over this country just because what is easy to say is being supported and promoted as fact yet the truth has a heartbreaking complexity that goes far beyond what can be cut down to a slogan. The collateral damage is all due to our collective ignorance. We hear about the "problem" and turn around to write checks but never manage to wonder where all that money went. I'd love to see an "awareness" charity fit this into their fundraising Tweet or Facebook post.
In 2013 NPR reported "The most recent statistics on incarcerated veterans from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) are almost 10 years old. In 2004, 10% of the State prisoners reported prior service in the U.S. Military. 140,000 were being held in prisons nationwide, 62% reported having an Honorable Discharge. A majority of veterans in State (54%) and Federal (64%) reported they served during a wartime period. At that point in time veterans of the Iraq-Afghanistan era comprised 4% of incarcerated veterans in both State and Federal prison."
Yep, it's that bad. Just to prove the point, when all the reporters were finally talking about suicides tied to the military and PTSD, Congress decided to start spending money. No, not just over the last decade or so but back in the 70's. Vietnam veterans pushed for all of it yet after all these years what was learned was forgotten and so have the Vietnam veterans been forgotten. They are the majority of the suicides but hey, why tell the truth on that simple fact?
As for current news, the DOD reported that there were 99 suicides in 2006 and was the highest number of suicides in 26 years. So Congress decided to do something about it but didn't matter to any of them what they did made it worse. More committed suicide even as less were serving with the end of wars.
Yet even that report came from limited data. At least you can see that when more "efforts" were made, there were more suicides but WTF no one shows any sign of changing a damn thing they got wrong already.
How about we take a look at another missed number in all the talk about the price being paid by those who risked their lives for this country? I was reading about another veteran in crisis facing off with law enforcement officers and wondering who is being held accountable for failing veterans in the first place? A Deputy was shot in the face by a veteran with PTSD. The veteran is now facing charges.
Local Shooting Starts Conversation About PTSD was the headline but the news begins with the false conversation of "22 Veterans Commit Suicide Everyday."
How do you begin a conversation with bad information? How to you boil any of this down to a soundbite as if it will ever change anything?
This is what happened in California but keep in mind it is happening all over the country.
These are other just from 2015
January
Magoffin County Sheriff's Deputies and Kentucky State Police, went to serve an arrest warrant on Vietnam War Veteran, Carter Castle.
MARICOPA, Ariz. --- An Arizona military veteran died after a confrontation with police in his neighborhood south of Phoenix Sunday afternoon. The widow of 32-year-old Johnathan Guillory says her husband struggled for many years with post-traumatic stress, brought on by a combat deployment in Iraq. He also spent time as a contract worker in Afghanistan.
February
On the balcony of his second-story apartment in U.S. Air Force dress blue uniform, Francis “Frank” Lamantia Spivey stood with an assault rifle pushed up to his chin just after midnight Feb. 25.
March
Police said William Dean Poole, 52, had told the hotline he planned to kill himself and not to send anyone to his home because it would not end well. When officers arrived at about 5:25 p.m., Buie said Poole was sitting on a lawnmower and fired multiple shots at police first. The officers returned fire, killing Poole.
Glendale police fatally shot Joe Tassinari in March 2015 outside his home near 67th and Peoria avenues. An officer said Tassinari, who was suspected of displaying a firearm at a woman earlier that night, did not obey commands and made a threatening move by reaching for his waistband. Dallas and neighbors said Tassinari typically kept a gun on him in one of his back pockets.
Anthony Hill, a 27-year-old US air force veteran, was shot dead on 9 March at his apartment complex outside Atlanta. Police officers had been responding to a 911 call for an episode during which Hill was not wearing clothes, crawling on the ground and banging on his neighbors’ doors.
An as-yet-unidentified officer shot and killed Brian Babb, a 49-year-old former captain in the Oregon Army National Guard, after Higgins called police to Babb’s west Eugene home because he was suicidal and told Higgins he had fired a gun in his home.
April
At least two Victoria police officers were placed on administrative leave Sunday after fatally shooting a 25-year-old man outside of his home. Brandon Lawrence, was an Afghanistan veteran.
Standoff on 1-35 With Texas Veteran Ends With Help, Police confirmed he was a veteran and took him to the hospital. Investigators were waiting Saturday afternoon to talk to doctors and decide whether to file charges, Dickson said.
A army spokesperson has released the name of the Soldier found dead by Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department SWAT Wednesday in the Century at Fenwick Apartments in the Berwick area. The Soldier was Spc. Roobelson Viciere, 30, 3rd Infantry Division Artillery.
May
Boise Police Department On average, Boise police officers encounter approximately one veteran per week facing a crisis and in need of assistance, and officers are provided the opportunity to aid in referring the veteran to one of the network partners. These interactions demonstrate the value of the program, and that its objective is being met.
August
Wade Allen Baker, 44, of Clyde, alone in the church when law enforcement crews arrived. The man exchanged gunfire with the officers, she said.
Barry Sutton was a civilian contractor, working with DynCorp International. He was helping to train police officers in Afghanistan as part of NATO's resolute Support Mission, according to the Floyd County Sheriff's Office. Sutton was one of 12 people who died after a suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy traveling through a crowded neighborhood. "Barry was a solid career officer, Floyd County Police Department SWAT veteran and deputy,"
September
Mr. McGranahan had served two tours of duty in Iraq, been wounded in the back, and awarded a Purple Heart. The woman, Shirley Mowery, said her grandson suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, but was not capable of hurting anyone. Toledo police have identified Donald McGranahan II as the main taken in custody after a standoff with police in West Toledo today.
An Ormond Beach father and husband was additionally charged Thursday with attempted second-degree murder after his wife described to police a horrific night of "PTSD rage." Before barricading himself in his house for seven hours on Wednesday, Kevin Hamilton attacked his wife, threatened to kill his family and shoot himself in front of his crying 4-year-old son, police reports state.
Keep in mind that I cannot find all the reports, so there are a lot missing from this list. There were many more news reports about veterans on trial for standoffs from other years during this year like the one going on in Tampa Florida
This isn't even factoring in the number of questionable suicides like accidents that are actually on purpose or drug overdoses that may or may not have been on purpose. Families are still wondering what the purpose of all this "awareness" actually produced to spare other families from suffering the same deadly outcomes.
Too many lives have been shattered because veterans are still unable to find the help they need to heal from where they were sent. So when will someone be held accountable for this failure that spreads from the DOD to our communities? When do we actually do something to change the outcome? How do we get there when all the nonsensical "awareness" raising fails to not only tell the truth but trivializes this massive suffering down to a convenient soundbite of "22 a day" just because it is easier than reporting the facts?
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 4, 2015
There is a price being paid all over this country just because what is easy to say is being supported and promoted as fact yet the truth has a heartbreaking complexity that goes far beyond what can be cut down to a slogan. The collateral damage is all due to our collective ignorance. We hear about the "problem" and turn around to write checks but never manage to wonder where all that money went. I'd love to see an "awareness" charity fit this into their fundraising Tweet or Facebook post.
"Department of Defense has had increased suicides after "prevention training" then turned around to boot out 140,000 leaving the discharged with no help at all, betrayed others with PTSD treating them like slackers while telling the public they care, and then Congress betrayed even more by not taking responsibility for all the money they spent, laws they passed, rules they wrote because they could turn around and blame the VA when they in fact had jurisdiction over and then folks saw charities making millions off "awareness" raising and jumped on the bandwagon making suffering of veterans a way to make money leaving them without help so they could fact off with law enforcement officials all over the country to the point where communities had to come up with Veterans Courts to try to keep veterans out of jail and get them the help all the others failed to provide."
In 2013 NPR reported "The most recent statistics on incarcerated veterans from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) are almost 10 years old. In 2004, 10% of the State prisoners reported prior service in the U.S. Military. 140,000 were being held in prisons nationwide, 62% reported having an Honorable Discharge. A majority of veterans in State (54%) and Federal (64%) reported they served during a wartime period. At that point in time veterans of the Iraq-Afghanistan era comprised 4% of incarcerated veterans in both State and Federal prison."
Yep, it's that bad. Just to prove the point, when all the reporters were finally talking about suicides tied to the military and PTSD, Congress decided to start spending money. No, not just over the last decade or so but back in the 70's. Vietnam veterans pushed for all of it yet after all these years what was learned was forgotten and so have the Vietnam veterans been forgotten. They are the majority of the suicides but hey, why tell the truth on that simple fact?
As for current news, the DOD reported that there were 99 suicides in 2006 and was the highest number of suicides in 26 years. So Congress decided to do something about it but didn't matter to any of them what they did made it worse. More committed suicide even as less were serving with the end of wars.
Over the first six months of 2015, 130 active-duty troops took their own lives, along with 89 reserve members and 56 National Guardsmen. In the second quarter, the reserve component experienced 47 suicides and the National Guard, 27.As for the VA, "The analysis found that the actual number of estimated suicides per day among veterans has remained relatively stable, ranging from 20 per day in 2000 to 18 per day in 2007 and 22 per day in 2009 and 2010, the latest estimates available, according to a report on the study released Friday. The rate of suicide among veterans who use VA health care services has remained steady in recent years, at about 36 per 100,000.The analysis found that the actual number of estimated suicides per day among veterans has remained relatively stable, ranging from 20 per day in 2000 to 18 per day in 2007 and 22 per day in 2009 and 2010, the latest estimates available, according to a report on the study released Friday. The rate of suicide among veterans who use VA health care services has remained steady in recent years, at about 36 per 100,000."
Yet even that report came from limited data. At least you can see that when more "efforts" were made, there were more suicides but WTF no one shows any sign of changing a damn thing they got wrong already.
How about we take a look at another missed number in all the talk about the price being paid by those who risked their lives for this country? I was reading about another veteran in crisis facing off with law enforcement officers and wondering who is being held accountable for failing veterans in the first place? A Deputy was shot in the face by a veteran with PTSD. The veteran is now facing charges.
Local Shooting Starts Conversation About PTSD was the headline but the news begins with the false conversation of "22 Veterans Commit Suicide Everyday."
How do you begin a conversation with bad information? How to you boil any of this down to a soundbite as if it will ever change anything?
This is what happened in California but keep in mind it is happening all over the country.
Mariposa deputy shot in morning shootout
Your Central Valley News
By Patrick Nelson
Published 10/02 2015
Mariposa, Calif.
The Mariposa County Sheriff's Office is asking for prayers after one of their own was shot in the face during a shootout with a suspect early Thursday morning. The deputy remains in critical condition. 35-year-old Brian Ballasch of Merced is being charged with shooting the officer.
While this shooting happened in a small community it's impacting anyone who puts on a law enforcement badge for a living.
The Fresno Sheriff's Office is just one of many agencies offering their support for the critically injured officer.
Just a day after the Merced Police Department was warned about former Marine Brian Ballasch struggling with post traumatic stress disorder he had a run in with Mariposa deputies.
After ramming his vehicle into deputies trying to stop him on Highway 49 near Mariposa investigators say he got out and started shooting a .45 caliber pistol hitting a deputy in the face and upper body who is now fighting for his life in a Madesto hospital.
Officials are visibly shaken by the incident
"One deputy... I'm sorry... a ten year veteran of the office, a father, a husband, a friend was struck at least twice," Kristie Mitchell of the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office said fighting back tears.
Ballasch was also shot in the shootout, but will be ok. He is being held for the attempted murder of a peace officer. The three other deputies involved in the shootout have been placed on administrative leave which is standard protocol as California Highway Patrol is investigating
read more here
These are other just from 2015
January
Magoffin County Sheriff's Deputies and Kentucky State Police, went to serve an arrest warrant on Vietnam War Veteran, Carter Castle.
MARICOPA, Ariz. --- An Arizona military veteran died after a confrontation with police in his neighborhood south of Phoenix Sunday afternoon. The widow of 32-year-old Johnathan Guillory says her husband struggled for many years with post-traumatic stress, brought on by a combat deployment in Iraq. He also spent time as a contract worker in Afghanistan.
February
On the balcony of his second-story apartment in U.S. Air Force dress blue uniform, Francis “Frank” Lamantia Spivey stood with an assault rifle pushed up to his chin just after midnight Feb. 25.
March
Police said William Dean Poole, 52, had told the hotline he planned to kill himself and not to send anyone to his home because it would not end well. When officers arrived at about 5:25 p.m., Buie said Poole was sitting on a lawnmower and fired multiple shots at police first. The officers returned fire, killing Poole.
Glendale police fatally shot Joe Tassinari in March 2015 outside his home near 67th and Peoria avenues. An officer said Tassinari, who was suspected of displaying a firearm at a woman earlier that night, did not obey commands and made a threatening move by reaching for his waistband. Dallas and neighbors said Tassinari typically kept a gun on him in one of his back pockets.
Anthony Hill, a 27-year-old US air force veteran, was shot dead on 9 March at his apartment complex outside Atlanta. Police officers had been responding to a 911 call for an episode during which Hill was not wearing clothes, crawling on the ground and banging on his neighbors’ doors.
An as-yet-unidentified officer shot and killed Brian Babb, a 49-year-old former captain in the Oregon Army National Guard, after Higgins called police to Babb’s west Eugene home because he was suicidal and told Higgins he had fired a gun in his home.
April
At least two Victoria police officers were placed on administrative leave Sunday after fatally shooting a 25-year-old man outside of his home. Brandon Lawrence, was an Afghanistan veteran.
Standoff on 1-35 With Texas Veteran Ends With Help, Police confirmed he was a veteran and took him to the hospital. Investigators were waiting Saturday afternoon to talk to doctors and decide whether to file charges, Dickson said.
A army spokesperson has released the name of the Soldier found dead by Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department SWAT Wednesday in the Century at Fenwick Apartments in the Berwick area. The Soldier was Spc. Roobelson Viciere, 30, 3rd Infantry Division Artillery.
May
Boise Police Department On average, Boise police officers encounter approximately one veteran per week facing a crisis and in need of assistance, and officers are provided the opportunity to aid in referring the veteran to one of the network partners. These interactions demonstrate the value of the program, and that its objective is being met.
August
Wade Allen Baker, 44, of Clyde, alone in the church when law enforcement crews arrived. The man exchanged gunfire with the officers, she said.
Barry Sutton was a civilian contractor, working with DynCorp International. He was helping to train police officers in Afghanistan as part of NATO's resolute Support Mission, according to the Floyd County Sheriff's Office. Sutton was one of 12 people who died after a suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy traveling through a crowded neighborhood. "Barry was a solid career officer, Floyd County Police Department SWAT veteran and deputy,"
September
Mr. McGranahan had served two tours of duty in Iraq, been wounded in the back, and awarded a Purple Heart. The woman, Shirley Mowery, said her grandson suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, but was not capable of hurting anyone. Toledo police have identified Donald McGranahan II as the main taken in custody after a standoff with police in West Toledo today.
An Ormond Beach father and husband was additionally charged Thursday with attempted second-degree murder after his wife described to police a horrific night of "PTSD rage." Before barricading himself in his house for seven hours on Wednesday, Kevin Hamilton attacked his wife, threatened to kill his family and shoot himself in front of his crying 4-year-old son, police reports state.
Keep in mind that I cannot find all the reports, so there are a lot missing from this list. There were many more news reports about veterans on trial for standoffs from other years during this year like the one going on in Tampa Florida
Matthew Buendia changed after his third deployment to Afghanistan and that when he came home, the former Marine became a recluse. "He was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," said Swanson, "A lot of those doctors were giving Matthew different types of medications. He was taking very severe stuff." Buendia is accused of shooting Hillsborough County deputy Lyonelle De Veaux during a domestic dispute in October 2011. The deputy survived the shooting.
This isn't even factoring in the number of questionable suicides like accidents that are actually on purpose or drug overdoses that may or may not have been on purpose. Families are still wondering what the purpose of all this "awareness" actually produced to spare other families from suffering the same deadly outcomes.
Too many lives have been shattered because veterans are still unable to find the help they need to heal from where they were sent. So when will someone be held accountable for this failure that spreads from the DOD to our communities? When do we actually do something to change the outcome? How do we get there when all the nonsensical "awareness" raising fails to not only tell the truth but trivializes this massive suffering down to a convenient soundbite of "22 a day" just because it is easier than reporting the facts?
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Did Fort Bragg Soldier With PTSD Get Justice?
NEW MOTIONS, HEARING IN FORT BRAGG SOLDIER'S SHOOTING CASE
ABC News
By Nicole Carr
September 24, 2015
FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- Attorneys for a Fort Bragg soldier convicted for opening fire on local first responders are asking military and civilian courts to lighten their punishments.
Staff Sergeant Joshua Eisenhauer, 34, is serving an 18 year sentence for shooting at Fayetteville police and firefighters during a 2012 standoff in his apartment complex. Eisenhauer's defense team has argued the soldier was going through an episode tied to PTSD. Military health officials have disagreed with civilian doctors, citing substance abuse as the issue ailing the young soldier.
Eisenhauer, who was sentenced in Cumberland County last month, will face a military separation board on October 8. His military defense attorney Todd Conormon plans to request the Fort Bragg board to allow him to finish his service agreement instead of discharging him.
read more here
ABC News
By Nicole Carr
September 24, 2015
FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- Attorneys for a Fort Bragg soldier convicted for opening fire on local first responders are asking military and civilian courts to lighten their punishments.
Staff Sergeant Joshua Eisenhauer, 34, is serving an 18 year sentence for shooting at Fayetteville police and firefighters during a 2012 standoff in his apartment complex. Eisenhauer's defense team has argued the soldier was going through an episode tied to PTSD. Military health officials have disagreed with civilian doctors, citing substance abuse as the issue ailing the young soldier.
Eisenhauer, who was sentenced in Cumberland County last month, will face a military separation board on October 8. His military defense attorney Todd Conormon plans to request the Fort Bragg board to allow him to finish his service agreement instead of discharging him.
read more here
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Be aware of it you have a problem. Seek help.
Family of veteran wounded after encounter with police questions officers' actions
KXXV News
By Estephany Escoba
Posted: Sep 23, 2015
KILLEEN - The family of an Army Veteran who was wounded after an encounter with police in 2014 criticized the way police responded to someone they said had post-traumatic stress disorder.
Sgt. Titus Latchison who served in the U.S. Army for 13 years went on three tours: two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
"My son was a father, a son, a husband and a very good friend... and a leader," said Latchison's father, Bobby.
He was shot by Killeen Police when he charged at officers with knives in April of 2014. Latchison died earlier this month at the Olin E. Teague Veterans' Medical Center in Temple.
Bobby said even though he had not been diagnosed, his family suspected the sergeant was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder when he had the encounter with police last year.
He said he wanted Titus to get help, but he never did. He said he encourages other veterans suffering from PTSD to seek help before it is too late.
"Be aware of it you have a problem. Seek help. Don't let the bomb explode on you,” said Mr. Latchison.
His family is upset at the way police handled the situation of someone with possible PTSD. They said the injuries he suffered that day impacted his health and contributed to his death. Latchison’s autopsy results are still pending so the cause of his death is unknown it is unknown.
read more here
Dad Grieves “Why he had to pay that price, we don’t know”
KXXV News
By Estephany Escoba
Posted: Sep 23, 2015
KILLEEN - The family of an Army Veteran who was wounded after an encounter with police in 2014 criticized the way police responded to someone they said had post-traumatic stress disorder.
"My son was a father, a son, a husband and a very good friend... and a leader," said Latchison's father, Bobby.
He was shot by Killeen Police when he charged at officers with knives in April of 2014. Latchison died earlier this month at the Olin E. Teague Veterans' Medical Center in Temple.
Bobby said even though he had not been diagnosed, his family suspected the sergeant was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder when he had the encounter with police last year.
He said he wanted Titus to get help, but he never did. He said he encourages other veterans suffering from PTSD to seek help before it is too late.
"Be aware of it you have a problem. Seek help. Don't let the bomb explode on you,” said Mr. Latchison.
His family is upset at the way police handled the situation of someone with possible PTSD. They said the injuries he suffered that day impacted his health and contributed to his death. Latchison’s autopsy results are still pending so the cause of his death is unknown it is unknown.
read more here
Dad Grieves “Why he had to pay that price, we don’t know”
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Dad Grieves “Why he had to pay that price, we don’t know”
Titus Latchison won't be counted among the deaths by the DOD. He won't be counted among the suicide deaths by the VA. He won't even be counted as one of the veterans killed by police officers after a standoff ended what was a call for help to save his life. Only his family will remember he was suffering for his service.
Whenever you read the number "22 a day" regarding how many veterans take their own lives in this country everyday, there are a lot more not included in that total. The stunning numbers of veterans committing suicide show the rates have not decreased but this story should remind everyone, we will never know how many more are simply not counted because they do not fit into an easy, exasperating, soundbite.
"Titus Latchison’s wife, Daphanie Latchison, said her husband began to show signs of PTSD when he came back from Iraq in 2006. It was his second deployment. His first was to Afghanistan in 2003."
Whenever you read the number "22 a day" regarding how many veterans take their own lives in this country everyday, there are a lot more not included in that total. The stunning numbers of veterans committing suicide show the rates have not decreased but this story should remind everyone, we will never know how many more are simply not counted because they do not fit into an easy, exasperating, soundbite.
A tragic encounter
Killeen Daily Herald
Jacob Brooks and Clay Thorp
September 20, 2015
“Why he had to pay that price, we don’t know,” said Latchison’s father, Bobby Latchison, a retired sergeant first class and Desert Storm veteran.As he wielded two knives, Army combat veteran Titus Latchison walked out of the front door of his home in west Killeen on April 4, 2014, and confronted police armed with Tasers and handguns.Eric J. Shelton | HeraldThe father of Titus Latchison, Bobby Latchison, covers his face as he talks about the Sept. 4 death of his son on Tuesday.
Latchison’s family said he was trying to prevent his own suicide that day in a desperate 911 call for help. But as police commanded Latchison to drop his weapons, officers say the veteran charged at them and they had no choice but to fire on the troubled soldier.
Latchison’s life had just become a living hell.
Ramifications
Latchison, 37, survived the shooting, but as surgeons rushed to save his life, they removed one of his lungs, his spleen and more than half of his lower intestines, his family said. He was put into a medically induced coma at Scott & White Hospital in Temple.
The family says Latchison was in the coma when police charged him with aggravated assault against a police officer.
“They came and told me I had to leave, that he was under arrest. ... No family members could see him,” said Latchison’s mother, Juanita Guillory, a Killeen resident. “I was tore up from the floor up. This is my son and he can’t do anything for himself.”
Because of his shooting injuries, his physical body withered away. The 6-foot-1 former Army sergeant went from 280 pounds at the time of the shooting to 150 pounds when he died Sept. 4, a loss of 130 pounds in 17 months.
read more here
Friday, September 18, 2015
After Standoff Iraq Veteran Faces Charges
First question is, "Did he get diagnosed or was PTSD an assumption?" Next, it would be great to know if he was in treatment, on medication or plus using substances that have been known to cause "outbursts" like this. It is very rare for them to get this out of control, but it does happen.
Police: Wife in Ormond standoff recounts 'PTSD rage'
Man now faces additional charge of attempted murder
Daytona Beach News Journal
By Lyda Longa
Published: Thursday, September 17, 2015
An Ormond Beach father and husband was additionally charged Thursday with attempted second-degree murder after his wife described to police a horrific night of "PTSD rage."
Before barricading himself in his house for seven hours on Wednesday, Kevin Hamilton attacked his wife, threatened to kill his family and shoot himself in front of his crying 4-year-old son, police reports state.
Julie Hamilton recounted a night of violence and fear with Kevin Hamilton telling Ormond Beach police investigators that her spouse snapped after drinking rum and Fireball whiskey. The couple had been discussing a possible divorce or separation, but then began talking about salvaging their marriage, reports show.
The suspect, 36, suffers not only from post traumatic stress disorder from serving in the militiary in Iraq, but a neighbor who knows him well said Hamilton also suffered a brain injury in combat. Officials did not say in what branch of the military Kevin Hamilton served.
read more here
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