Family asks cops to check on 74-year-old vet after surgery, and they break in and kill him.

a reply to: network dude
they called round to check on him but got no answer , so they came back later with the fire dept and came in his home through the back door , they saw him standing there with a gun in his hand and shot him.

i wonder if they even considered that this old man that had just returned from having an operation may have been a little hard of hearing and on hearing a disturbance at his back door , not sure what it was and a little frightened went to check
carrying his gun , i think that as soon as the cop saw that gun the old man was as good as dead .

how many of us has been woken up from a deep sleep by some noise and still half asleep went to check on the cause
it takes a few moments to work out what your seeing .

This could have been avoided if a loved one was there to take care of him.

originally posted by: RoScoLaz4

originally posted by: Soloprotocolsounds to me like the Old fella might have been acting a little strange so the Family called the cops.

sounds like cops killed another innocent man after busting down his door and finding themselves (absolutely justifiably) being confronted. as i said, pathetic.

Yep. According to news report, the police came by his house at 10:30 PM, and no-one answered. The old guy was probably asleep and under pain killers. Then, the police came an hour later, 11:30 PM to check on the welfare of a 76 year old man who just underwent heart surgery! 11:30PM!

Yeah, when they ENTERED through the back door, the guy was awake this time, and armed!

RIP

a reply to: tom.farnhill

Based on what has been reported so far, it looks like a series of unfortunate events led to this death.
Surely could have been avoided if a family member of neighbor checked on him instead of just calling the cops to do it. But none of that can be undone.

So why'd they decide to break in late at night?

Critical thinking must not be an aspect of police functions.

originally posted by: Lysergic
So why'd they decide to break in late at night?

Critical thinking must not be an aspect of police functions.

Timeline of events on Saturday, Feb. 7.
10 p.m.:
Family of James Allen asked police to conduct a welfare check on Allen.
Anson County officials contacted the Gastonia Police Department to conduct the check.
10:20 p.m.:
An officer went to Allen’s home on Mary Avenue. There was no answer when he knocked on the door.
11:08 p.m.:
Anson County started a check of local hospitals. They could not find Allen.
11:30 p.m.:
Police called for County EMS and Gastonia Fire Department about a possible death inside Allen’s home.
Officer Lefevers announced his presence and entered the home.
Allen approached him with a gun and Lefevers shot and killed him.

www.wsoctv.com...

a reply to: network dude

i am not a young man any more and when i hear a noise that i don't what it is , i always go to check carrying a small club.
we do get home invasions here in the uk sometimes .
it is sad that he survived the op but died by a cop .

originally posted by: real_one
a reply to: RoScoLaz4
"But we don't have all the facts yet"

"We don't know what happened before they shot this 74 year old man"

"He was a lethal threat that had to be neutralized"

"He should have checked in and this would have never happened"

Queue the in-house apologists...

What a pathetic attempt to shut down discussion. I guess we should all be like you and just assume the officer is a racist POS who was only on duty that night with the intent to kill someone...just anyone...

So, he's 74 (and probably hard of hearing, which may be why he didn't answer his door the first time), most-likely medicated up and hurting from having heart surgery a week prior.

Obviously, we'll never know for certain if he was standing at the ready with a gun pointed at the officers, as is reported, but what happened to taking into account the things that I just mentioned and doing everything you can to ensure that the resident of the home you're entering on a welfare check is absolutely comfortable with and approving of the fact that you are in their home?

I don't know what the procedure and laws are governing welfare checks, but I'm pretty certain that they don't include taking up officers' time to check on people recovering from surgery. I'm with someone else on this thread who thinks that the individual may have been acting possibly violent or otherwise out of character. My mother-in-law become a nightmare when she is on prescription pain killers, so I know that it's possible that it could make people violent and irrational from the meds.

I don't know--it just seems like there were some missed steps in this welfare visit to me.

originally posted by: Lysergic
So why'd they decide to break in late at night?

Critical thinking must not be an aspect of police functions.

I've got to agree with this. Police shouldn't be choosing to break into someone's house, even with the fire department, to do a simple check. The second trip should have yielded a call back to the family stating that he didn't answer both times. There was no legal reason to break into his home to check on him.

Unfortunate, yes.
Avoidable, absolutely.
Cops at fault - you betcha.

Accountability is a b!t2h and it's something we lack these days. Time to start holding them accountable.

MAYBE it's because no matter HOW oid we vets will keep a gun and defend ourselves.
Maybe he scared the family ,it does happen sometimes.

a reply to: WCmutant

I guess I don't understand your point. Were the police suppose to ignore the request from the family to check on him?
You did see the timeline of events right?

The irony of the cops actions is that he(they, him+FD) broke into the home probably because they feared he may have hurt himself or need medical attention.

They broke in the house to possibly save his life, only to end up killing him.

Officer: "Fearing for the safety of the homeowner, we decided it was necessary to force entry in the event that the homeowner was in danger and needed medical attention."

"So what happened then?"

Officer: "I shot him."

Scary

originally posted by: network dude
a reply to: WCmutant

I guess I don't understand your point. Were the police suppose to ignore the request from the family to check on him?
You did see the timeline of events right?

Was there a warrant? If not, the cops were breaking and entering. Self defense is not legal during commision of a felony. Manslaughter one. 20 years for the shooter and a lesser charge for his accomplice.
Suspicion of death by natural causes is not justification for police entry without proper authorization in any state to the best of my knowledge.

a reply to: MisterSpock

If that BS was true they would have entered 12 hours earlier when they first responded in the day time.

a reply to: RoScoLaz4

Will "well-being" checks be the new swatting?

I wonder if this is beginning to sink in among the state violence deniers.

originally posted by: network dude
a reply to: WCmutant

I guess I don't understand your point. Were the police suppose to ignore the request from the family to check on him?

So now all I have to do to get the police to break down your door is to ask them to?

Another family learns the hard way that police are hardly the best people to call when help is needed. Though I fail to understand why the family wouldn't do a welfare check themselves. If one is truly concerned with the welfare of a family member, is an hour or so drive to check on them really that much of an inconvenience?

Well, at least his welfare will never be in question again...

case solved.