9-1-1 recordings reveal mistake during fatal shooting of teen
TIGARD, Ore. - The family of Lukus Glenn goes to court this month in its lawsuit over his death. His own mother called police for help that night. saying her son was suicidal and threatening their family. Investigator Anna Canzano examines the recordings from that chaotic scene, and the heartbreaking mistake they reveal.
Lukus Glenn had conquered high school as a three-sport varsity athlete, but on the night of September 15, 2006, he was lost and distraught. A long-time relationship had recently ended, and though his friends were headed to college, he was not.
By three in the morning, Lukus had returned home, drunk, dropped off by a friend. His family wouldn't give him keys to a car, so he tried getting into a shed to get his dirt bike.
He then busts into the house through the front door, grabs this knife, and starts smashing car windows in the family's driveway.
That's when Hope Glenn calls 9-1-1.
Hope Glenn to 9-1-1: I need the cops to my house immediately. I have a son that's out of control, busting our windows and has a knife and threatening us.
Police radio traffic reveals officers are preparing for a non-lethal confrontation, despite a dispatcher's warning about Lukus' threats as they head to the scene. One officer asked whether anyone with a bean bag gun was responding. Another officer says he grabbed one.
9-1-1 dispatcher to officers: Just be advised, he said he was going to run at you with a knife.
Once the officers arrive, the situation intensifies.
Officer: Get on the ground now, get on the ground.
Hope: Put it down...put it down
Brad Glenn: Put it down Luke.
Hope: I don't want to see you die.
Lukus (in background): You're going to see your son die.
Hope to 9-1-1: Don't let them shoot, please don't let them shoot him
9-1-1 dispatcher: Hope, Hope take the phone and move away from him okay.
Hope: I'm away from him, but he's going to kill him, they're going to shoot him.
Lukus (in background): You kill me, or I kill me.
Hope: He's saying he kills himself or they kill him, he just wants to die tonight.
Less than four minutes later, the 9-1-1 call captures the Lukus' final moments.
9-1-1 dispatcher: They don't want to hurt him, they're there trying to help.
(shots)
Hope: They shot him...
(more shots)
Hope: They shot him, they killed him.
Officer to dispatcher: Shots fire, I've got one down.
An officer on scene communicates this back to the dispatcher.
Officer to 9-1-1 dispatcher: Be advised, four beanbag rounds, no effect. He still has the knife. Be advised...we've got a couple people in the house. He ran towards the door, he's on the ground, the knife is near him.
Which leads the dispatcher to comfort Hope with a mistaken relay of information, creating more confusion for the Glenn family about what's actually happened.
9-1-1 dispatcher to Hope: Listen, what they're doing is they shot him with bean bag rounds, okay?
Hope: No, he's all bloody...and the bullets all went through the house.
Dispatcher: Listen it's not going to kill him, they're beanbag rounds.
Hope: In the house?
Dispatcher: They're supposed to subdue him and knock him out.
Hope: They're all in the house. Are you sure it wasn't the bullets.
Dispatcher: Yeah, that's what they're telling me, they're telling me it was bean bag rounds. They're just trying to get him calmed down enough and they can get the knife away from him so they can take care of him.
Hope: But he's laying on the ground bloody.
That exchange -- that moment -- is a key point of contention in the family's lawsuit; why did that officer choose to communicate back that bean bag rounds were used, when he himself had just fired lethal rounds from his own service weapon? Was it an honest mistake? Confusion? Or was he trying to create a false narrative - that police tried to control Lukus Glenn with non-lethal force well before killing him with their bullets?
In the seconds that follow, it becomes clear, Hope's only son is dying.
Police to dispatcher: We might need to get medical here, he's probably had a couple shots to the back. We need medical code three, he took actual rounds. We've got shallow breathing, very shallow, slow breathing. Okay, he's not breathing anymore.
A devastating reality no court ruling can undo.
Lukus' mother is suing the Washington county sheriff's office and its deputy. Trial is set to begin in three weeks. The officers involved have defended their actions - as being in line with their training - as actions taken to protect Lukus' family given the threat he posed by turning and heading toward the home.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Rob Bletko later determined the use of deadly force was justified. None of the parties being sued agreed to comment for this report.
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 @archangels007Â
Yes by all means DO NOT CALL 911 when you need help. Because we all know law enforcement is there to kill your loved ones.
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What a crock, you go ahead and when your loved one is done stabbing you and the rest of your family we will read THAT article in the news how law enforcement did not stop it from happening.
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Not all officers carry at all times all forms of less-lethal (there is no non-lethal). Think about it for a minute. How much space do you think is on that utility belt? Sure Batman can have just about infinite stuff, but outside of Gotham there is a limit.
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And each option takes time. I know in movies cops and badguys can whip out weapon after weapon after weapon, but reality things happen too fast for more than one, or if you have a second chance, two options.
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Better cops? Oregon has the best. A Mall cop in Oregon has more training and certification than many local police.
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Better training program? I don't think any law enforcement agency would disagree. Law enforcement knows better than you how mistakes cost lives. They would train "better" and more if they could, but that costs money. Taxpayers (you) have chosen for them to limit training.
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System for holding them accountable? We have multiple systems. There are at least three, and then there are the civil penalties.
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Oh an NO, people who make the same mistake DON'T immediately go to jail, they ofen don't even get a trial. Or have you fotgotten about Zimmerman already?
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Know more talk less. Your anger (from a slanted "news" story) appears to be clouding your critical thinking.
This is why you never call the police for help.
Ok I didn't play the video, but that audio editing is VERY misleading.
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On the unedited audio you get a better picture.
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You SHOULD hear TWO sets of shots.But the editing and voice over kinds screw that up.
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On the PHONE you hear officers and the mother make commands for the boy to put down the knife.
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You hear "muffled" gunfire (one could suppose this is the shotgun with bean bags), two shots.
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The mother then screams about him being shot.
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This dispatcher calms her down telling her it was not lethal.(during this you hear a third and then a fourth)
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Then you hear a whole bunch more gunfire.
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The mother again screams her son has been shot and is down. (Then on the radio the officer says one down)
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The dispatcher re-iterates that the shots were bean bags and he should be fine.
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The mother responds that her son is bleeding and hurt.
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I just want to note, there are TWO WCSO dispatchers 24/7. And while this incident appears that only one was controlling the call, information between the two, the call-taker, and officers in less than 20 seconds could very well mean mis-information.
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But that's not what this is about. It's about one officer on the radio saying he used beanbags and bullets that actually killed a man.
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I want to know, who actually fired what? More than one officer responded and it SOUNDS like more than one weapon was used.
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Oh and I looked up Anna Canzano (AKA Anna Song) to see what people took issue with. OK NOW I see, she nor her husband are journalists put pundits posing as them. I had no idea, she is more like
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She is like a Rachel Maddow and he is like a Glenn Beck. When it comes to news, they both should be treated like Steven Colbert.
This whole situation is sad for all involved. And I can't help but think that if the cops had NOT shot him, he would have killed himself (as he stated he would) and then the parents would sue the cops for not handling the situation properly. Lose/Lose.  I feel for the parents, but nobody won on either sides of this situation.
Ugggg people, read the article!!! They DID use LTL, 4 times in fact and they did nothing. Leading someone to believe the kid was probably high on something too because those things aren't exactly like getting licked by a kitten. They used LTL, the kid freaked out and ran towards the house and they had a split second decision to make. Let him get in the house and now have a hostage situation? You have to keep the danger away from the innocent and the officers used what was left in their tools. The officer told dispatch they used bean bags 4 times and they did nothing, he then relayed that the kid was down and the knife was by him. He left out the one sentence of lethal shots fired, but can you imagine the adrenaline, panic, unreal feeling you would have after just having to shoot some kid? Do you think he wanted to shoot him? Absolutely not and I'm sure that will plague him for the rest of his life. But unfortunately he did his job and a young kid died and for that I am sorry for the family BUT they have no one to blame but the kid who chose to do what he did and was so out of control his mom was afraid and couldn't control him.
@ CRB well said
So a miscommunication back to the dispatcher after the shots were fired? I would say that a proper communication changes nothing in this situation as the shots had already been fired. Here is Anna (one of the married team of dirt slinging journalists in the area) finding issue where really, it doesn't exist and running with it.
How her and John keep jobs is beyond me. Actually it isn't...Society loves them some sensationalistic journalism.
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Anna and John are two peas in a pod.
And what the hell? How is everybody getting that he said he was going to kill people if they did not kill him? Check your f$%king facts. OPEN EYES, READ PAGE, LISTEN TO RECORDING- once this is accomplished you can all go back and feel like a tool for assuming one thing without knowing it.
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"I KILL ME, OR YOU KILL ME". Not " you kill me, or I kill you" or " you kill me, or I kill them". you guys are disgusting.
 @Tyler Buckles Tyler I am sorry for your loss.  You are too close and emotionally involved to make a rational statement on this situation.  You are speaking with emotion and pain, yet we understand your perspective. Â
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We don't need to have known Luke for a long as you did to know this man. Â We know him by his actions that night. Â That night his mother and the police responded to him by the actions he was displaying. Â They all only re-acted to his lead. Â That night he was out of control, violent, and threatening everyone around him including him-self. Â He was not kind and gentle.
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Thanks to the highly publicized press coverage we do know the facts. Â No one is judging him. Â They are judging the actions of the officers responding to the situation that Luke created. Â
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No one is against Luke. Â What happened that night is very sad. Â We are supporting the officers involved in the situation. Â We are saying that from the information that the press has put out, the officers acted the way we want our police and sheriff's deputies to act in situations like this.
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You are correct in saying that he had his whole life in front of him. Â
It was his life and he was responsible for it. Â That night he failed to protect it.
Don't bring a knife to a gun fight.
 @Tom "dogboy" Collins Don't bring an idiot to an intellectual discussion. In otherwords, you have our full permission to remove yourself from this conversation, you uninformed tool. What happened to using a damn baton? They extend to keep three and a half feet between you and a suspect, easily outside of arms reach.  Not to mention pepper spray or OC spray? WTF?!How do I know this? The military taught me so. The military has more restraint than these cops do. and that is SAD since I have been labeled as being such a baby killer, and a "home recruited terrorist".  Cops are just a bunch of trigger happy pussy cats afraid to get near anybody.
I know the Deputy. So go away you angry little boy.
And his mother told the dispatcher...
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Hope Glenn to 9-1-1: I need the cops to my house immediately. I have a son that's out of control, busting our windows and has a knife and threatening us.
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Notice the part about "threatening us"...Jusr a little detail you obviously are choosing to ignore.
He's also ignoring the fact the kid was drunk and underaged as well. Both these boys seem to have anger issues. Maybe he was the 'friend' that was his drinking buddy?
your right tyler he said "you kill me" made HIS wish come true !!!!!! So why is mom asking for money??? The did as he asked!!
Self correction " You kill me, or I kill me"
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You guys can claim it was justified all you want. But that just means you never knew Luke. Luke would NEVER hurt his mother, father or anybody else. EVER. He was the kindest person growing up. and I know for a fact how close him and his mother was growing up. It was not justified. Luke would of never hurt anybody before hurting himself. Â He was a kind gentle young man and by the looks of some of the comments misunderstood. Don't know him? Don't know all of the facts? Then don't judge him. Â Unless you know for a damn FACT he would ever hurt anybody, don't start trying to justify your own beliefs by ranting how " he deserved it". You guys are sick.
Tyler- 'deserved' vs 'earned' are two different things.
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The responding officers knew nothing of him that wasn't presented to them either on their computers, by the dispatcher, or what they witnessed. 'he wouldn't harm a fly' vs a drunken disorderly person with a knife who refused to follow officers instructions. He presented a very real, and very tangible threat to life. The lives of the responding officers, and the lives of his own family.
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THAT is why it ended the way it did.
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Many, many bad choices were made that night. Some of them justified. They ended with the death of a young man for no good reason. But, again, that choice was made by HIM.
Sick, and ALIVE.
Hurt them, like with a knife?
It's funny you say he would never hurt his mother or father, yet his mother was obviously frightened by the fact that he was threatening her and his father...which is why she called the cops according to her own statements to the dispatcher. Maybe his mother didn't know him either? Is that what you are suggesting?
 @Portlander29 Actually, it is not very funny at all. Shame on you.She called the police because she failed to calm him down, and was hoping the officers could do that, and was in fear he was going to KILL HIMSELF. It is a natural response for anybody who cares about their children.
@Tyler Buckles Sorry but the simple fact of the matter is yes it was justified. No matter how kind, sweet, normal and awesome Luke was. The fact was... he was distraught, was making threats and had a knife. Period. I'm sorry for your loss.
And the officers did not know how nice, sweet and kind Luke was. They respond to a situation and assess the facts. Fact: He was holding a gun. Fact: He was irrational. Fact: He was making threats. Fact: They DO NOT have to employ LTL before lethal weapons. It's a sad situation... but it was a justified shooting. At least through the info that's been released to the public.
@Dake Oops. I meant knife. Sorry. Still a deadly weapon though.
Your incorrect... He was not hold a GUN - he was holding a knife...
I used to like Anna. Â Now it seems all she wants to write about is slamming Law Enforcement. Â Too bad.
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This man (old enough to join the military and fight over seas, old enough to drink and threaten others with death by a knife, yes a man), wanted to die and was not going to stop until he killed someone else, then was killed by the police. Â The officers tried every thing in their power to not use deadly force. Â They gave verbal commands and used less lethal rounds in order to gain his compliance. Â When those didn't work and he continued to show his intent, means, and opportunity to harm some one else, they had no choice but to use deadly force. Â
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Imagine if they hadn't used the deadly force when they did, and he was able to make it to his mother or other family, and stabbed them. Â What kind of uproar would there be for the officers in not doing their job and allowing this out of control man to attack and kill his mother without doing more to stop him?
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Stop blaming the police. Â Blame the bad guy, Lukus. Â He did this. Â Mom and family should accept that he caused this situation. Â In the end, all he had to do was comply with the verbal commands, drop the knife, and do what the officers asked him to do.
I have heard these recorded conversations. This report makes it seems a lot less chaotic than it really was.
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Everyone could be heard in the call yelling. Law enforcement, the mother, the father, the dispatcher was trying to talk over everyone so the mother could follow her instructions.
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The audio is a mess and I can play it back over and over at different levels to hear everything. I am certain the situation was even more confused than you can get from the audio alone.
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I think the parents need someone to blame. They are hurt and want law enforcement to hurt like they do (I am certain that deputy feels terrible), and to make it hurt, they are suing.
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It likely won't result in any significant amount of money (the insurance company is likely to settle), but it will make the parents feel that they "showed them", or something to that effect.
This whole situation is heartbreaking! I feel sorry for Luke, and his family. I couldn't imagine being in this situation. prayers to the family.
Maybe Anna Canzano is just hoping to smear enough mud in order to get a job on TMZ. "Or was he trying to create a false narrative that police had tried to control Lukus Glenn with non-lethal force well before they killed him with their bullets?"
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Really Anna, do you want to make any more wild accusations that are in the form of a question? How about you go read the original Oregonian article,
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http://blog.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/2008/08/previous_stories_and_the_tort.html#092406
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It actually does a good job giving a lot more information. They had 3 cops there, 1 with a beanbag gun and 2 with lethal guns. They shot first with the beanbag gun and then shot him with the lethal guns. I can't imagine how chaotic it must have been for everyone and if one of the cops didn't realize they shot him with both regular bullets and beanbag bullets, I can totally see how that would happen. Anna way to try to stir up the pot. I feel badly for Hope Glenn but the fault of this situation lies on her son and his alcohol abuse.Â
Sounds like more of a mistake on the part of the dispatcher, but if she kept that mom calm and out of harms way then she did her job. What I don't understand is if they used beanbags first (heard the slower shots first), and then used lethal rounds when the bb's didnt work? I feel sympathy for the mom for sure, but not sure the 5 million lawsuit is really the right thing.
I don't see a problem here. A citizen called the police about a drunk violent person. Police showed up and were threatened by the drunk violent person. They gave him chances to end the sitiation but he didn't so they shot him.Â
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Done. He won't do it again.
Your comment "done. He won't do it again." Heartless!
@deelightful1 He is a republican they have no heart
 @cptmac11  @deelightful1 Your hate for Republicans shows everyone you have no heart.
Yeah it does seem "heartless"... but as the commenter below pointed out, that makes it no less true. We are dealing here with a non-gangbanger who was a pretty good kid usually. He probably did not have chronic mental health issues (assumption) but he certainly was intoxicated, distraught and dangerous. Just because the officers planned to use the beanbag rounds first... DOES NOT mean they were required to use them. The kids words himself exonerates the cops actions. Its very sad but the shooting sounds very jutified.
@deelightful1 yet true, the truth does hurt sometimes too bad so many people are too afraid to speak it!
What exactly is brave about smearing a dead boy's character on the internet?Â
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Seems like they were missing a lead police officer who might have organized making sure everyone was only using BB guns. The police responded in a hurry, had SOME conversation about type of weapon, and only one person said they had one. Who was making sure everyone got the message?
@kumitekat Again volatile situations with split seconds to react....better chance than not this may lead to tragedy for one of the parties
Anna Canzano is just another liberal reporter trying her hardest to smear the police.
@Beergod I gotta say I am liking her less and less everyday. She is making a name for herself but perhaps one that is going to stunt her career. You need us to want to watch you on TV. I listen to husband a lot of the time so I guess I will suppor t your family slightly.
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In anti police portland ran by the mayor who despises the cops as well she probably feels she talks to the masses. The problem is anna most dont think like whacky Portland once you get outside of liberal Multnomah county.
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I dont read his articles because I only use newspapers for packing, lay under the vehicle if I do an oil change. Not worth reading.
@Duvie23 very well said
There's a whole bunch of wrong here, that ended up costing a young man his life. I'm trying to understand the purpose of the lawsuit, and most of what I come up with isn't respectful towards the young mans family.
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I dont know what led him to become enraged and agressively confrontational towards his family, and towards the responding officers. The fact of the matter is that the Mother did feel in fear for her life, or she wouldn't have called police. He was armed, and he was behaving in a threatening manner. Up until the point where he threatened to go into the house, it was a standoff. The dispatchers reaction to the Mother over the phone is pretty much non-sequtor, as she was undoubtedly trying to get her out of harms way, and keep her calm. I would question if she followed protocol by telling the Mom that LTL rounds were used, as not being on the scene, she would have no idea.
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The question becomes, could/should the officers have used LTL (less than lethal) options against him. Now, given that PPD has a history with inappropriate use of lethal force, even when LTL was availible, it's not impossible for me to see where their (the families) frustration comes from. But, again, I'm hard pressed to find cause (outside of an opportunistic attorney) to file a lawsuit.
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Sorry to say it, but from where I sit, given the information availible to me, the only person truly responsible for the events that unfolded that night was Lukus Glenn. Unfortunately, his decisions to not comply with officers instructions in a confrontation, while armed and presenting a very real threat towards the family, cost him his life.
 @MarkKpic It's not PPD it's PPB.  PPB was not even there.  It occurred in Washington County with county and a local city jurisdiction officers being involved.  They did attempt to control the situation with the use of less lethal rounds, but he continued to act out.  You are correct that Lukus is the only one responsible for all of the events that occurred that night.Â
Thank you so much for taking the time to correct me.
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The only reason I referenced PPD was because perception is 9/10ths of civil litigation. Once this goes to court ANYWHERE in the PMA, the first thing on most jurors mind is going to be the ill-conceived notion of all 'Portland" cops as being trigger-happy thugs. Add to the pile of compost Anna Canzano and her obviously unbiased investigative reporting... well, let's just say that I suspect that the case will be tried in the media before it ever ends up in a courtroom. Â Â
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Is the public perception of police officers in the PMA accurate? No. But, civil lawsuits are not based on accuracy or an interest in persuing justice. They are, typically, the path of least resistance between attorneys/plaintiffs and the bank.
 @MarkKpic I think they did shoot him with less lethal beanbags but that didn't stop him.
I hope mom wins the whole damn lawsuit for justice for Luke.... I am not condoning his behavior that evening, but I am sure this could have been handled in a whole different manner. some of our police officers need to get off their power trips and put themselves in a parent's shoes or the shoes of a drunk 18 year old. Mom called for help and this is what she got. I will definitely not be calling for any assistance when it comes to my children. Go mom!!!!
 @allsevenofus Handled how? By letting Lucas stab his family? Letting Lucas attack them? He was holding a knife and said quite clearly on the 911 tape, either you kill me or I kill you. They gave him many chances to put down the knife. All he had to do is put it down. I hope your children don't get so drunk and suicidal that they punch out the windows of your car, kick in your door, threaten to kill you and then threaten to kill the cops with the same knife they are holding. You are living in la la land if you think they could have done much more to resolve this.Â
 @Caspertoo  @allsevenofus He said " you kill me, or I kill me" He only wanted to harm himself. You stand corrected,
@Tom "dogboy" Collins Look at his profile pic. Those guys are probably drunk in that picture. They were all probably heavy drinkers underage like Luke...
@Tom "dogboy" Collins NO thet are just blinded by bias because they knew this fool...
You want to debate this with an angry drunk guy? You're foolish.
 @allsevenofus You may not be able to call the cops when your laying on the floor bleeding to death. Ever thought of that?
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@Beergod @allsevenofus Seconded!!I I hope the moment you need the police force you like to judge who are put into horrible situations daily by mentally disturbed people, will be there for you.