Saturday, a Houston police officer shot and killed a double amputee man, with one arm and one leg after police claim the man aggresively threatened the officer, waving a metal object.
The “metal object” turned out to be a pen.
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The NY Daily News reports:
Police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said the man cornered the officer in his wheelchair and was making threats while trying to stab the officer with the pen. At the time, the officer did not know what the metal object was that the man was waving, Silva said.
She said the man came “within inches to a foot” of the officer and did not follow instructions to calm down and remain still.
“Fearing for his partner’s safety and his own safety, he discharged his weapon,” Silva told The Associated Press.
The man in the wheelchair has been identified as as Brian Claunch.
Police had been called to the scene after a caretaker called and reported that Claunch was causing a disturbance.
The owner of the group home, John Garcia, told the Houston Chronicle that the Claunch had a history of mental illness and had been living at the house about 18 months.
Garcia says:
“He sometimes would go off a bit, but you just ignore it,”
The officer identified as Matthew Jacob Marin, a five-year veteran of the department has been placed on three-day administrative leave, which is standard in all shootings involving officers.
SOURCE: NY Daily News
