TheeBadOne
Member
FORT WORTH - A Fort Worth police officer shot and killed a 23-year-old man who threatened the officer with a knife early Wednesday claiming he was going to "make him shoot him," officials said.
The fatal shooting of Travis K. Spint marked the second time this month that an officer used deadly force after being confronted with a knife by an emotionally or mentally unstable man.
Police said Officer T.W. Stone, 35, who has been with the department almost three years, responded to a duplex in the 5900 block of Swords Drive about 1 a.m. to investigate a call about a nonviolent man who might have overdosed.
When the officer arrived, fire officials and paramedics at the scene told him that the man was in a back bedroom, armed with a knife, according to a police news release.
"He was mentally and emotionally distraught," said Lt. Gene Jones, a police spokesman. "There was some personal issues going on which triggered the emotional condition he was in."
As Stone stepped into the house, he called for a supervisor with a Taser, an electronic shocking device used as an alternative to deadly force. At that point, however, the knife-wielding man stepped into the room from a hallway and confronted Stone, the release said.
"According to witnesses, the suspect told the officer he was going to make him shoot him," the release said.
Spint then raised the knife and approached Stone, who fired once, striking Spint in the chest, the report said.
"The man was about six feet from the officer," Jones said. "The officer had no other choice but to defend himself."
Spint died at John Peter Smith Hospital. His death was the second officer-related shooting this month.
On Dec. 7, police fatally shot Gary Elsholtz after his mother called 911 and reported that her son, who was manic-depressive, began tearing up her home and refused to go to the hospital.
Police have said that Lt. S.E. Conn, a 17-year veteran, attempted to subdue Elsholtz with a Taser but the weapon malfunctioned. Officer N.B. Martinez then shot the approaching armed man twice in the chest because he feared for his and other officers' safety, police have said.
Jones acknowledged that there has been some concern, in light of that shooting and the one Wednesday, regarding departmental procedures and training when dealing with emotionally distraught people armed with knives.
He stressed that all Fort Worth officers, including Stone, receive special training on how to deal with unstable people. He added that situations change drastically, however, when the person becomes the aggressor.
Stone has been placed on a three-day administrative leave, as is routine in police-related shootings. The department's major-case unit is investigating, and the incident will be forwarded to the Tarrant County district attorney's office for review, Jones said.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/7569883.htm
The fatal shooting of Travis K. Spint marked the second time this month that an officer used deadly force after being confronted with a knife by an emotionally or mentally unstable man.
Police said Officer T.W. Stone, 35, who has been with the department almost three years, responded to a duplex in the 5900 block of Swords Drive about 1 a.m. to investigate a call about a nonviolent man who might have overdosed.
When the officer arrived, fire officials and paramedics at the scene told him that the man was in a back bedroom, armed with a knife, according to a police news release.
"He was mentally and emotionally distraught," said Lt. Gene Jones, a police spokesman. "There was some personal issues going on which triggered the emotional condition he was in."
As Stone stepped into the house, he called for a supervisor with a Taser, an electronic shocking device used as an alternative to deadly force. At that point, however, the knife-wielding man stepped into the room from a hallway and confronted Stone, the release said.
"According to witnesses, the suspect told the officer he was going to make him shoot him," the release said.
Spint then raised the knife and approached Stone, who fired once, striking Spint in the chest, the report said.
"The man was about six feet from the officer," Jones said. "The officer had no other choice but to defend himself."
Spint died at John Peter Smith Hospital. His death was the second officer-related shooting this month.
On Dec. 7, police fatally shot Gary Elsholtz after his mother called 911 and reported that her son, who was manic-depressive, began tearing up her home and refused to go to the hospital.
Police have said that Lt. S.E. Conn, a 17-year veteran, attempted to subdue Elsholtz with a Taser but the weapon malfunctioned. Officer N.B. Martinez then shot the approaching armed man twice in the chest because he feared for his and other officers' safety, police have said.
Jones acknowledged that there has been some concern, in light of that shooting and the one Wednesday, regarding departmental procedures and training when dealing with emotionally distraught people armed with knives.
He stressed that all Fort Worth officers, including Stone, receive special training on how to deal with unstable people. He added that situations change drastically, however, when the person becomes the aggressor.
Stone has been placed on a three-day administrative leave, as is routine in police-related shootings. The department's major-case unit is investigating, and the incident will be forwarded to the Tarrant County district attorney's office for review, Jones said.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/7569883.htm