This incident happened yesterday when an officer responded to a home to do a welfare check on an elderly person.
Thoughts on this incident and discussion.
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She was in HIS house-- uninvited! She could have exited the house and called for backup! She DID NOT have to shoot and murder this 88 year-old man in his own home… If ANY other person would have done this under the same circumstances it would not have been call a tragic accident… if would have been called MURDER!!! NEVER, under ANY circumstances ask the police for a welfare check-- it WILL end in the death of an innocent person.
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Here in NM, the police department no longer will do welfare checks by whom the CYFD (a child, family service dept.) will be doing these type of checks.
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The deputy retreated down the hall and into a guest bedroom as Ehrich cornered her.
This is easy to prove with her body cam. If indeed so, cant blame her, she did her job. If not…
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A series of unfortunate events.
Nobody did anything wrong.
Older man was defending himself in his own house… probably having wrong thoughts and doubts about “invader” being a LEO.
County Sheriff’s Deputy did everything what she could to not shoot him… but at one point she was cornered and didn’t have other option.
That story reminded me another one, when off duty cop shot a man who kept shoplifters at gunpoint. He didn’t hear cop’s commands to drop the gun.
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I could have done with out the babbling couple, but it’s just a tragedy that could have been avoided had he put down the gun.
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Sad deal. Not meaning any disrespect, but that is sometimes called mexican standoff.
One of my worst nightmares as a homeowner is how to verify the identity of law enforcement in an unexpected contact where everybody perceives threat and nobody wants to be a target.
Maybe the spookiest EMS assignments were “dark house” welfare checks or 9-1-1 hangups when law was unavailable. Don’t envy them a bit.
If you can make voice contact when both parties are thinking and listening, the pressure drops quickly when everybody clearly understands the ID problem and is actively trying to solve it (turn on overheads, verify with 9-1-1 on phone and officer on radio, have a scanner on so you know who’s outside). That did not happen in this event.
I don’t see an officer error, nor any good solution once a safe retreat was cut off. The homeowner for what ever reason did not actively participate in trying to solve the ID problem with safety for both parties, and it didn’t work out.
All I can say to folks who object to welfare checks is, not in my society. There’s got to be a method better than waiting for the smell of decomposition.
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IMHO the man was given plenty of chances to drop his weapon. The officer did retreat numerous times while shouting commands to drop the weapon and identifying herself. It’s possible the old man didn’t hear or was suffering from Dementia or Alzheimer’s but how is anyone supposed to know this. It’s tragic but the officer did the right thing, text book and to the letter.
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The man was 88… he probably couldn’t hear… FACT remains she was in HIS house uninvited-- he didn’t have to drop his weapon… and she could have retreated and waited for backup (btw she backed herself into a corner… he didn’t “corner” her) . Aurora CO, cops kills 72 year old man who was given NO announcement that he was a cop AND 911 flunkies didn’t pass on important info that the wife had told them. FT. Worthless TX, police show up for a welfare check, woman sees flashlights in the back yard and gets her firearm… cops doesn’t ID and shoot her through her bedroom window…
HELLOOOOOOOO, 88 years old, probably couldn’t hear well nor see well with a flashlight coming at him.
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Well, at least you give the old man credit for being old and confused, unlike others commenting…
But I disagree, she didn’t have to shoot! And she cornered herself, he didn’t corner her.
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That’s why I put in a better link. These 2 were just irritating.
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She was called there, she was doing her job. Keep making excuses for all the idiots that get shot by cops, by all means. You probably also think George Floyd was a Saint…
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Wooow!!! You went from 0 -100 in a few seconds. Tell me Spence, where have I made excuses for ALL THE IDIOTS KILLED BY COPS??? Where did I say Floyd was a saint??? If you want an intelligent dialog-- great!!! but you are invited to keep your stupid, uneducated comments to yourself. As it is… you have no credibility. Its people like you who turn a great community into a ghetto. BTW, I think floyd was a criminal and officer Chauvin was merely using his training and was used as a scapegoat for the crooks who trained him.
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Firstly, I’m really sick of all of the anti-LEO sentiments everywhere. Yours included. We’re on the same page with Chauvin/Floyd, that’s great.
Until you step into the role, or a similar one, you have zero room to judge. Period. My “stupid” and “uneducated” comments must have hit awfully close to home. But hey…what do I know? I’m just a nationally certified use of force instructor 
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I knew my Grandparents very well…and I knew how it might be being 88 years old.
She did everything correctly. What is the difference between being cornered by somebody and cornered yourself by retreating in unknown environment?
And yes, at the very end she had to shoot. That was normal action once you are threatened with deadly weapon.
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You must think yourself God-- you think you know everything. I was a cop back in the mid 70’s, I didn’t have all the luxuries the police have today–mine was REAL police work. No body armor, no tazer, 6 shot revolver with 6 extra rounds, no radio if I left the cruiser, no computer nor data bases to give me heads up on calls. You speak what you don’t know and your “nationally certified use of force instructor” means nothing because you’ve proven yourself to have no credibility. Blah! Blah! Blah! And, Your Worship, being a police critic doesn’t equal anti-LEO sentiments. Now, go away.
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Well, Jerzy, I strongly disagree. We will have to leave it at that.
Nope not going away, and I’m calling BS on you being a former cop. You’re a current TROLL. You’re here to cause problems, which no department that I’ve ever dealt with would tolerate someone who is just there to cause problems. Say what you will, but I’m not going to continue feeding the trolls.
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Also, there seems to be no set standard for “welfare checks” by police. There were 2 children found murdered by their father a few months ago in my town. The mother (out of town/divorce) called the police 3 times in 3 days asking the police to do a wellness check on the kids. I am friends with the PIO on the police department, the capt said, in a news interview, that the police needed more reason to go into the house-- the phone call wasn’t enough, but then, you have departments saying the phone call was enough… the mother finally called friends and they went to the UNLOCKED house and found the children (how horrible). There really needs to be a set standard! You are one of the good guys, Johnny, and I appreciate your dialogs… helps me think…
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