Man Threatens Suicide, Police Kill Him

Justin Way was in bed with a knife. His girlfriend called a non-emergency number to try to get him into a hospital. Minutes later, cops shot him dead.
On May 11, Justin Way was drinking and threatening to hurt himself. His father, George Way, said his son was a recovering alcoholic and had been alcohol-free for five weeks.

“He just lost his job, and he had a setback,” he said.

Way’s live-in girlfriend, Kaitlyn Christine Lyons, said she’d caught Justin drinking a bottle of vodka, which she took away from him to pour out. She said he was drunk, lying in their bed with a large knife, saying he would hurt himself with it. She called a non-emergency number in an attempt to get her boyfriend to a local St. Augustine, Florida, hospital for help—and told them she did not feel threatened.

She claims that the only person Justin was threatening to hurt was himself. She did not feel threatened personally. I buy that considering she stuck around and was able to contact the police.

Minutes later, two St. Johns County Sheriff’s deputies, 26-year-old Jonas Carballosa and 32-year-old Kyle Braig, arrived at the home, armed with assault rifles, and told Kaitlyn to wait outside.

“I thought they were going into war,” she remembered thinking when she first saw the large guns. Within moments, Justin was shot dead.

I have conflicting feelings about this. Sure, walking into a situation where someone is armed and threatening to kill themselves isn't exactly fun, but showing up with ARs is only going to escalate things. To me it's seems the most appropriate response would have been to contain the guy, then wait for someone qualified to make contact with him, or yell through the doorway. If you just bumrush someone in an already fragile mental state, bad things can happen.

Do I think that the cops went in there wanting to shoot someone? Not really. Do I think they could have chosen a more appropriate way to deal with the situation? Absolutely. There is a of course a chance that one of the cops had an itchy trigger finger or made a mistake and they're covering for that. Suicide by cop is common though.

This is why police need freaking body cameras. The level of public trust is very low, and having a camera is a wonderful way to be more transparent, especially in a situation like this.

Way’s parents brought Justin’s mattress to the curb after his death. George says he believes there was a bullet dug out of the bed from a hole found in the middle of it. He also said the blood was contained entirely within the mattress, and that it did not hit the walls or the floor.

That is a heartbreaking line. I can't imagine how hard that would be for a parent.

On Facebook, Jonas Carballosa, the second deputy involved in the Justin Way shooting, once posted the following quote: “Most people respect the badge. Everyone respects the gun.”

Sigh.

Link

Well one thing's for certain: they stopped him committing suicide.

She should have called his sponsor first!


Do not call the police unless absolutely necessary they are not on your side.

a reply to: Domo1

there is no conflicting feelings about this, cops a #en murderer and deserves the same sword!

This one I can relate to and feel lucky to be alive.

I was at the end. Lost my wife, she took my kids that I was the stay at home dad for over 5 years with, took my dogs, a best friend died four months before, I moved across the country for her job nine months prior...it was time...I was going to do it.
My one and only friend here called the cops worried about me after I sounded strange on the phone.

They showed up at my tiny apartment, front and back doors, and broke them down guns drawn, yet they only tazed me until I saw stars and beat me so bad the hospital took poloroids and digital pictures.

a reply to: Domo1

That's harsh....

Why couldn't they have used tazers, or pepper spray if they simply had to confront him? But, as you said, they should have simply contained him and called in trained personnel to deal with him properly.

Man, your cops are brutal in the US... This is one of the many reasons we don't want routinely armed Police in the UK - for one thing, it makes them much more likely to think of alternate solutions rather than simply gunning him down.

Denise Way, Justin’s mom, said the detective relayed to her that “they told Justin to drop the knife and he didn’t—so they shot him because ‘That’s what we do.’”

Can't argue with that, it is what they do. More and more people seeking a profession in law enforcement completely lack any sense of empathy for others. The firearm has become their first, second, and third weapon of choice. Who needs words when bullets will do?

originally posted by: AshOnMyTomatoes
Well one thing's for certain: they stopped him committing suicide.

they sure did

Cops have killed well over 5,000 Americans since 9/11.
Many of these killings have occurred during no-knock raids,
which have risen by 4000% since the 1980s. www.abovetopsecret.com...

Hundreds of police killings go unreported. www.abovetopsecret.com...

According to a Wall Street Journal report, national statistics provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation do not report 25 percent or more of police killings in the US.

The newspaper analyzed data from 105 of the largest police agencies in the country and compared the figures to the official statistics of the FBI. More than 550 killings between 2007 and 2012 were not part of the FBI totals.

Specifically, in these jurisdictions the Journal tallied at least 1,800 police killings, compared to only 1,242 reported to the FBI.

One of the major causes of the discrepancy is the failure of many local police agencies to report homicides that are considered justifiable.

This is one example of what the False Authority considered "justifiable".

lets not have any cops,how about that?cause the way they are getting slated left right and centre no one is going to want to be one.
lets get this right,police make mistakes in all walks of life,we can fling in the race card at every level.

we hear all sorts of accusations but are you actually there to know the truth? i think that will be a big fat NO.

become a cop yourself and see what goes on,if not then give these guys that risk their life to protect you some support.

a reply to: Domo1

Absolutely horrible.

I know a lady who lost her husband because she called the cops after worrying that he was suicidal. They killed him. She is an absolute shock. Her life had turned into a nightmare. She loved him and never once for a second was worried that he would harm him or anyone else.

a reply to: AudioOne

Time for us to wake up and reevaluate who the real threat is!

a reply to: wasaka

I am snowballing off your post with a personal experience. Which I have no links or articles to share since it falls under the "unreported".

7 years ago, my close friends sister was killed during a police raid. A wrong place at the wrong time situation. They weren't after her, but she was killed by more than a few of their bullets. The police department paid her family off to keep quiet. Well, they "settled out of court". But basically the same thing in my book.

It's really scary out there now. As someone who has never done anything wrong in their life and has a perfect driving record, I now find myself avoiding cops on the road. I will change lanes, and sometimes even turn off.
I pulled into a parking lot one night in a really bad area of Denver because I had gotten a flat tire. A cop pulled up behind me and said " Ya know, there's a big round thing on the back of your car that looks like a spare tire."
Um.... hello? That's why I pulled off the road.
He didn't offer to help a young girl in a bad neighborhood. Or even sit there for a few minutes to make sure I stayed safe.
Ever since then, I've had a really sour taste in my mouth about cops. Especially big city cops.

a reply to: sparky31

Oh, give over. Yes, Police put themselves in harms way, but how is a suicidal man any risk to them?

UK Police would have spoke with the guy from a safe distance and tried to talk him down - if all else fails, they'd use a tazer to subdue him, then section under the Mental health Act. At no point would they send in any ARV guys with their MP5's to "neutralise" him.

a reply to: alishainwonderland

Its getting to the point where run in with the police can be considered a danger to you life. The pressure is rising, wonder when the breaking point occurs?

originally posted by: stumason
a reply to: sparky31

Oh, give over. Yes, Police put themselves in harms way, but how is a suicidal man any risk to them?

UK Police would have spoke with the guy from a safe distance and tried to talk him down - if all else fails, they'd use a tazer to subdue him, then section under the Mental health Act. At no point would they send in any ARV guys with their MP5's to "neutralise" him.

not even going to argue with anyone on this post,lets just have a police free world and deal out our own justice,that should be fun.

a reply to: sparky31

Who's saying we should have a "Police Free world". You seem to live in a world of extremes, either we have Police who are prepared to shoot anyone for anything, or none at all!

How about giving them some proper training, teach them the gun isn't the answer and learn some bloody compassion and empathy for your fellow man... It ain't hard.

a reply to: sparky31

Cops are human and make mistakes.

One way to help them not make mistakes is to call them on it when they do and have repercussions.

Another way is to call them on it when they do and have better training and SOP implemented so they don't rush in to a situation and escalate it.

We really don't know what happened and for all I know the police followed procedure to perfection and the guy did in fact lunge at them with a knife.

Now if that's what happened can we perhaps agree that 2 armed men storming a room with a suicidal man is not the only option, and probably one of the worst?

originally posted by: stumason
a reply to: sparky31

Who's saying we should have a "Police Free world". You seem to live in a world of extremes, either we have Police who are prepared to shoot anyone for anything, or none at all!

How about giving them some proper training, teach them the gun isn't the answer and learn some bloody compassion and empathy for your fellow man... It ain't hard.

so you think the police that go out there now don,t have proper training?why don,t we just teach the criminal that the gun aint the answer and have compassion and empathy for your fellow man?

originally posted by: sparky31
so you think the police that go out there now don,t have proper training?

No, they clearly don't. If they think the correct response to a suicidal man with a knife is to approach him armed with assault rifles, it is clear they have not had the required training for dealing with people with mental health issues.

originally posted by: sparky31
why don,t we just teach the criminal that the gun aint the answer and have compassion and empathy for your fellow man?

What has that got to do with the price of fish in Grimsby on a Wednesday?

Those cops were idiots and could learn something from these officers from New York:

An unhinged, knife-wielding man about to jump from the top of a Bronx apartment building Friday was coaxed off the ledge by a cop offering him a cigarette, authorities said.

"He wasn't menacing the cops with the knife, he just ignored them," said one witness, who asked not to be named.

After nearly an hour, cops struck up a deal with Paulson: he could trade in the knife in his hand for a cigarette.

The smoker readily agreed, but when he dropped the blade and reached out for the cigarette, cops grabbed him and pulled him to safety.

Yet, in the end, cops kept up their end of the bargain: Paulson had the cigarette dangling out of his mouth when cops escorted him to an awaiting ambulance in handcuffs, witnesses said.

Cops coax suicidal, knife-wielding man off ledge of Bronx building with cigarette


The cops in this incident are idiots.