Neighbor: Man shot dead by police had dementia
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SEATTLE -- A south Seattle man who was shot and killed by police when he met them at his door with a gun had suffered from dementia, a long-time neighbor told KOMO News.
The King County Medical Examiner has yet to identify the victim, but the neighbor said his name was Hank Lee Sr.
"(Lee has) been living here for the last 34 years and I’ve been knowing him ever since I’ve been here," Hank Williams said, adding he's lived there just as long. "Real quiet, peaceful guy."
Williams said Lee lived alone after his wife died about six years ago but family members periodically checked up on him.
But Sunday night, the man called 911 using his medical alert relay service to report he was alarmed by a disturbance outside his home, said Detective Mark Jamieson.
"He was talking about the lights outside and said he had a weapon and wasn't afraid to use it," Jamieson said.
He mentioned a prowler, but there was none, Jamieson said.
The disturbance was the fire department responding to a person in a car who appeared to have some sort of medical crisis in the 6300 block of South Bangor Street.
Additional officers responded to protect the firefighters and an officer at the scene. When they approached the house to talk to the man, he came to the door with a gun, Jamieson said.
The man refused repeated commands to drop the weapon. Jamieson said when the man aimed it at one officer, two other officers fired.
The man died at the scene. No officers were injured. The officers involved were placed on paid leave, which is routine in police shootings.
Williams said everyone in the neighborhood knew of Lee and his battle with dementia.
"It should’ve came up on (the dispatcher's) screen, indicating all the medical issues he’s had up until now," Williams said.
Bob Le Roy, the President and CEO of Alzheimer’s Association of Western Washington, says he knows how complicated and terrifying these incidents can become for a patient of dementia or Alzheimer's.
"People with dementia are easily confused and they often mistake friends or family members or police men for intruders," Le Roy said. "They perceive them to be not friends or family but threats."
Le Roy said it can put police officers in a very difficult position.
"It's a very difficult position for them, and of course we want to encourage them and in fact train and support them to recognize the signs and the symptoms they may be dealing with someone with dementia, with Alzheimer's," Le Roy said. "But we certainly can’t ask them to put their lives as responders at greater risk... if someone’s pointing a gun. The reality of it is: Guns in the home of an Alzheimer’s patients are not a good match."
The King County Medical Examiner has yet to identify the victim, but the neighbor said his name was Hank Lee Sr.
"(Lee has) been living here for the last 34 years and I’ve been knowing him ever since I’ve been here," Hank Williams said, adding he's lived there just as long. "Real quiet, peaceful guy."
Williams said Lee lived alone after his wife died about six years ago but family members periodically checked up on him.
But Sunday night, the man called 911 using his medical alert relay service to report he was alarmed by a disturbance outside his home, said Detective Mark Jamieson.
"He was talking about the lights outside and said he had a weapon and wasn't afraid to use it," Jamieson said.
He mentioned a prowler, but there was none, Jamieson said.
The disturbance was the fire department responding to a person in a car who appeared to have some sort of medical crisis in the 6300 block of South Bangor Street.
Additional officers responded to protect the firefighters and an officer at the scene. When they approached the house to talk to the man, he came to the door with a gun, Jamieson said.
The man refused repeated commands to drop the weapon. Jamieson said when the man aimed it at one officer, two other officers fired.
The man died at the scene. No officers were injured. The officers involved were placed on paid leave, which is routine in police shootings.
Williams said everyone in the neighborhood knew of Lee and his battle with dementia.
"It should’ve came up on (the dispatcher's) screen, indicating all the medical issues he’s had up until now," Williams said.
Bob Le Roy, the President and CEO of Alzheimer’s Association of Western Washington, says he knows how complicated and terrifying these incidents can become for a patient of dementia or Alzheimer's.
"People with dementia are easily confused and they often mistake friends or family members or police men for intruders," Le Roy said. "They perceive them to be not friends or family but threats."
Le Roy said it can put police officers in a very difficult position.
"It's a very difficult position for them, and of course we want to encourage them and in fact train and support them to recognize the signs and the symptoms they may be dealing with someone with dementia, with Alzheimer's," Le Roy said. "But we certainly can’t ask them to put their lives as responders at greater risk... if someone’s pointing a gun. The reality of it is: Guns in the home of an Alzheimer’s patients are not a good match."
Dementia makes people do strange things.
"It shouldâve came up on (the dispatcher's) screen, indicating all the medical issues heâs had up until now," Williams said.
I hate to break it to you, but a person with dementia is just as dangerout with a firearm as anyone else. Probably more dangerous!
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People with dementia should NOT be living alone, especially with firearms in the home. The family is more to blame than the officers, in this situation. The officers acted appropriately for the situation.
That poor man...none of this is his fault. He should not have been living alone with a weapon in his condition.Â
When he came out with the gun you'd think the idea would be to back off and investigate a bit...perhaps the situation didn't allow for that.  What a tragic waste.  I'm certain the cops feel like s...Â
Unfortunately, it is just as easy (if not easier) for a man out of his wits with dementia to shoot and kill a police officer as anyone else. They probably made the right call, though it is unfortunate that this mans family allowed him to live alone with access to firearms in his condition.
So his family left a man with dementia and the accompanying paranoia to live ALONE in a house??? Â They "checked on him." Â He should have had a family member living with him, or be in a facility. Â Sad as this was, he could have easily burned the house down with himself in it, a week later. Â Shameful. Â
 @DT And with a gun, no less!
I guess the only thing I could see that the cops could have done differently is not knock on his door, instead surrounding the house and try to make contact from afar. Â I don't know what the protocol is for a call from a person with a weapon, but obviously if they hadn't have knocked on the door things may have ended differently. Â Either worse or better, as he could have just started shooting at random from the home. Â We will never know. Â I do support the officers decision though. Â None of them want to kill another person and obviously they felt helpless. Â They couldn't taser or use pepper spray for fear of the gun going off. Â This is just sad all around.
F.Y.I. as a former police officer they could of used a taiser from 20 feet or rubber bullets to disengage the man. I blame the dispatcher for setting them up thinking they were coming up on a Rambo situation instead of a 76 year old man with dementia. Who has medic alert buttons? I would say older people for the most part. That's how the man called the police. I feel the police are to quick to shoot. Can you imagine how scared and confused a man with dementia would be with the police all around your house, lights in your face(so you can't see what's going on) and pointing guns at you. They could have sought cover and talked him down. I hope his family sues.
As a "former police officer" you should know that non-lethal force is not the appropriate response to a lethal threat. The police officers I know (and there are lots) don't determine their response based soley on the information provided by a dispatcher who has nothing but a phone conversation with somebody.
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One of the most difficult parts of the 911 folk's job is trying to talk to an irrational person and convince them to cooperate. Add in having a gun "and not afraid to use it" and it becomes a nightmare. The fact the gentleman couldn't recognized a fire/medic response and thought it to be a prowler serves to highlight just how advanced his condition had become.
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There is only so much you can do over the phone. One of those "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situations. Don't go to the house and he may just start cranking off rounds at the fire guys, do go to the house and have it develop into what happened.Â
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My heart goes out to the family and to the officers involved, a tragedy for sure.
@susie I would expect that a former police officer would know how to spell the word "taser".
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I don't blame them at all. They went into a situation involving a man with a gun. I'm guessing less-lethal wasn't even in the back of their mind.
What a sad story. I understand the police had to do what they needed to protect themselves and others but it still sucks. The poor man had dementia. He was confused about what was going on. He shouldn't have had access to any guns because of his medical condition.
One important lesson to be learned here. NEVER CALL THE POLICE. You're just asking for more problems.
Never call the Seattle Police!. I hope his family sues.
 @Blindman This comment is about as stupid as pointing a gun at the cops when they knock on your door.  Bet you would change you're tune if a demented man was pointing a gun at you and you needed help.  Who would you call??  Ghostbusters?????
 @muchtosay  @BlindmanÂ
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To be fair if somebody is pointing a gun at you it's too late for the police to do anything and I doubt you will have the ability to call them. People should remember that police are not there to protect you, they are there to enforce laws and protect the public as a whole. Protecting you is just a common side effect. Don't do anything that might make them think you a threat, the threat will be dealt with before questions are asked or answered.
@Blindman Actually, to be accurate, you should have said never call the police and point a gun at them when they show up. I have called the police many times in my life and have not been shot when they showed up. I wonder why that is???
This is so sad but for the neighbor to say that people's full medical history should come up on the screen for a dispatcher is not something I'd like to see. Maybe if police had been there before and they knew of him that would be one thing but we don't need to have our medical history pull up for cops. What is really sad is that nobody who knew he was demented either knew he had a gun or took it away from him prior to this. He was afraid of what was going on outside and the lights were scaring him.Â
@jellyfish Most of the commenters here would rather have him murdered. Taking a deep breath and slowing down never hurt anyone.
 @Klondiko  @jellyfish accept for the cop that let his partner get shot thinking that the old man won't shoot until he did.Â
 @jellyfish Unfortunately his son did take some of his guns away, but not all of them.
 @DarkParty  @jellyfish His family should have been living with him, or he should have been in a home.  My god... if you know you have to take someone's guns, then it's obvious they're a danger to themselves.  Instead of suing the police, I hope that they are an example to others that you can't just let your elderly parent with dementia live alone like that.  it's not like a cat that someone "checks on" while you're on vacation.  This is just horrible.Â
Here we go again, more trigger happy cops on SPD's force. This has the same aroma of the John Williams case.
Another law suit will soon be around the corner. What a shame that another innocent man with medical
conditions has been murdered by a radical trigger happy police force.
Well then, if that's how you feel, maybe people should just handle it themselves, and not call the Police. Your statement is ridiculous, and you are delusional.
 @ButtercupSprinkles You are like so many people who are afraid of their own shadow and rely on an amateur police force to protect you. If they are so fabulous, why
do they have to have a Federal baby sitter to watch and monitor the way they do business? Who's delusional now....hmmmm Buttercup????
@gangdestroyer This is very amusing. You have made some ignorant assumptions about me, and you are 100% wrong in them. I love internet tough guys that don't know what they are talking about.Â
I'm one of the guys that hunts down the scary monsters that you are afraid of.
 @gangdestroyer No it doesn't, and I'll say it again again, He pointed a damn gun at the cops, what else could they do? He knew how to use it and was willing to do so.
 @DarkParty Hey, nice writing skills there DarkParty. I get the feeling that correct spelling , English, and vocabulary were not your forte in Junior High. You should write a book on how to use poor writing skills for dummies.
 @gangdestroyer There ya go, resort to personal attacks instead of having an actual discussion.
There has to be a better way to deal with something like this. Basically an old man with dementia and the police department share the same technology? A mentally ill person should never have a gun, and the police department should have better tools to capture people alive than guns.
 @Damian Old adage: "If the only tool you have is a hammer, then every problem begins to look like a nail."
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If the only tool you have is a .40 Glock, then every threat...
 @JLS1950  @Damian They knocked on the door of a house where an elderly man was concerned about flashing lights. I doubt the police expected to be faced with a hostile man and a gun aimed at them.  He could have shot them both, point blank, instantly.  Frankly, I am glad that the police at least tried to get him to drop the weapon.  This is NOT the police's fault.  He should have not been alone and not had a gun. Period. Â
 @JLS1950  @DT Tragic, absolutely.  Preventable, certainly. Â
But, not by the responding officers that were looking down the wrong end of his gun that very moment. Â That's what you're not getting. Â It wasn't the officers' fault that they were confronted by a guy with a gun. Â They simply had a choice to make and that choice could have meant one of them not going home that night. Â
Should have been prevented by this man's family members - they should have taken the responsibility upon themselves to remove his firearms. Â They are almost certainly thinking that themselves right about now.Â
 @DT If suffering dementia, then he certainly should not have had a gun. Unfortunately, the Second Amendment defenders will not allow the sort of laws that would let us to remove his gun from him, so he ended up still having one. The next question, however, is did he tell DISPATCH that he was armed, and if so, did dispatch advise responding officers?
Gun defenders keep saying how much "protection" it is to have a handgun, and I keep telling them that your handgun is much more likely to be stolen, to be taken from you and used against you, to be used by you or a family member against a loved one, or to precipitate an unnecessary and violent response in which you will be killed... than it EVER is to actually save you from an attacker.
But what do I know? Only that this poor, frightened and confused old man is now dead. And nobody much seems to think that is both tragic and preventable.
Well, there is justice in the end: we all - buttercup included - will be old ourselves one day. And there will be younger cops that remember how they were told, "this is how we did it in the old days!" What goes around comes around. For me... it'll be hard for me to come to the door with a gun - or likely anything more hostile than a 3-cell Maglite.
Probably still get shot by some of these trigger-happy loons...
@JLS1950 @Damian
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Wait a minute. When met with threat from a deadly weapon, the proper response is greater force. And, aren't you the one that raises so much trouble over Police using Tasers? So, let me get this straight. You don't want Police to use Tasers, because you are convinced that they are deadly weapons, and you don't want the Police to use firearms. SO, Mr. Use-of-Force expert, what are the Police to use? Gentle words?Â
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 @ButtercupSprinkles You sir are an angry and disrespectful bully and need to find a different career - IMMEDIATELY. I suggest night clerk at a gas and mini-mart, although used car salesman might be better and certainly safer all around. I am sorry for your lost friends, but that DOES NOT justify your disrespectful demeanor. Get out of this line of work: it is DESTROYING YOU.
And you have no idea my qualifications.
"We hire our police officers to protect US - not to shoot us to "protect" themselves from a perceived threat, real or imagined."  Seriously? So, basically, you are saying that Police Officers should not respond to threats against them, and just allow violence to be done to them, and die. No, you certainly DON'T respect Police.     I've been a Police Officer for over 21 years. I also spent 23 years on active duty and in the reserves of the Armed Forces, and fought in 2 wars. I've seen one of my best friends murdered at work as a Police Officer. I have been injured and attacked, and had to use force in various forms, including deadly force, against people in many, many instances. I have permanent injuries and chronic pains from performing my duties as an LEO, and Soldier, and they are ALL from incidents in which I was serving and protecting the public. You, sir, are not entitled to having a valid opinion simply because you have been breathing for 62 years. You, sir, are pompous, insulting, presumptous and a know it all about topics you are completely unqualified to comment on. I don't really care how many people you claim to know in LE, that doesn't do anything to increase your credibility. Stick to giving tips on how to change the vacuum tubes in antique RCA console televisions, and leave the LE to the professionals.
 @Datsuyama This is kind of off topic here, but the term electrocution is sometimes used for a severe but non-lethal electric shock which fails to actually kill but - usually - does cause some medical issue, nerve or muscle disruption, or loss of consciousness. For example, a close lightning strike wherein one or more persons are knocked unconscious and/or suffer respiratory arrest or cardiac instability. Is this technically correct? No, but it is a common usage and it is descriptive.
If "department policy" requires medical evaluation of seniors following Taser application, consider that the man who was being discussed (on another thread) was age 60 - an age where heart anomalies can make the Taser particularly dangerous. That the victim needed medical evaluation is clearly evidenced by the fact that he is DEAD.
In this case, I have not stated or claimed that responding officers were specifically in error: what I have stated is that all reports are that this man STATED when making his emergency call that he was frightened and that he was armed with a handgun. Officers SHOULD HAVE known that parameter when approaching the situation. If they did not, then something went way wrong SOMEWHERE ELSE.Â
But frankly, you do have to think that if a resident is reporting a prowler and personal fear - and that resident has access to a firearm - that resident likely WILL be armed when officers arrive.
And I would remind you that coming to the door armed when one legitimately feels threatened in one's own home IS NOT A CRIME and does not in and of itself create probable cause for police to shoot!
From prior posts, I believe I have perceived that you are in fact a police officer. Perhaps I am mistaken. Your posts are generally respectful and measured, and are moreover often informative. I was responding to a poster who has made claims to being a LEO and who has been extremely DISrespectful, and who is therefore quite troubling to my mind.
I really am not anti-cop: I have friends and acquaintances who are or have been police officers, including a former very high-ranking deputy in the SnoCo SD whose father-in-law is my best friend, and a detective in SPD who was once an associate pastor at my church and who as a patrol officer nearly interrupted my marriage proposal one night many years ago. Plus a former classmate and former cop who is now a prominent council member. I am a law-abiding citizen and I respect police officers... so long as they respect citizens and THEIR rights and welfare.
What deeply annoys me, however, is when posters (some of whom claim to be LEOs) take an attitude of "he caused police to feel threatened so police had a right to shoot him - and too bad."
We hire our police officers to protect US - not to shoot us to "protect" themselves from a perceived threat, real or imagined. It is a matter of whether we as citizens are getting what WE are paying for - and police officers need to remember that they are HIRED and they are NOT THE EMPLOYER... WE ARE! We do not live and work at the pleasure of police: they work for US. If officers don't like that arrangement, they are free to find a different career - and SHOULD.
I have lived 62 years, and that is the opinion that I have earned a right to hold. Thank you!
 @JLS1950  @ButtercupSprinkles Departmental policy dictates when, and if, medical evaluation is required when using less-lethal force.  In Seattle, it's 3 or more Taser applications or if other factors exist, like very young or very old suspect of if known medical issues are reported. Â
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You keep using the terms "electrocuting" and "electrocution" which mean death by electric shock. Â What's the difference if the suspect dies? Â The method matters little at that point.Â
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The bottom line in this incident is this - the officers have a right to protect their own lives. Â They had a gun pointed at them. Â They met the threat with an appropriate amount of force. Â
And you have gotten all of this deep insight into my psyche from some comments on some "news" articles on the internet? HAHAHAHAHA! You, sir, are truly sad.
 @ButtercupSprinkles If you are indeed a cop (I dare say I hope not!) you have one of the most flagrantly unprofessional attitudes I have seen in such, and you need to get off the force and find a career where you are not such a danger to the public and to yourself.You seem to have developed the belief that law enforcement is all about protecting YOU and YOUR "rights" - personally - and the public be damned. I find that DISGUSTING and wholly worthy of a superannuated schoolyard BULLY.
GROW UP!
I don't actually do TVs much anymore, and LED, TFT and plasma TVs don't run multi-kilovolt flyback transformers and anode caps anyway. Plus it is just deucedly hard to perform repairs on or to solder in new transistors on fully-encapsulated/cased integrated circuit chips! (Kinda like trying to resurrect the dead really - or maybe like trying to do open-heart surgery on a dust mite!) I haven't done computers with massive high-voltage power supplies and banks of glowing red-hot C16J thyratrons for several decades, either - although I doubt that means anything much to you.
I have for some decades earned my shekels as a senior system admin, system architect, planner and datacenter manager - most recently doing system security admin for a smallish Fortune 500 company. This might be called productive adaptability.
@JLS1950 @ButtercupSprinkles Yes, this situation would have greatly improved if the officer tased the man right after his partner got shot in the face. [Sarcasm] Bullets were the right tool for this call.
Back at you, Mr. I'm-a-washed-up-TV-repairman, but I'll pretend that I'm an expert on all things Cop and Medical.... I'm rolling my eyes. LOL.
 @ButtercupSprinkles I never said don't use Tasers, and you know it! I said - explicitly TO YOU - that if you use your Taser, CALL THE PARAMEDICS TO GET THE VICTIM CHECKED OUT!!!
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What is to very hard to understand about that??? You know... the same number that gets YOU dispatched - 911 - but when they say "police - fire - medical - what are you reporting?" you say "Medical: I need paramedics. I just d.mned near electrocuted this guy with my Taser and I need to know that he is going to be okay!"
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But I would WAY prefer that you electrocute the poor scared-out-of-his-mind 80-something Alzheimer's guy than simply give him hot lead poisoning! Paramedics can often FIX a little electrocution - especially if you perform CPR when indicated while waiting. They can only very rarely fix hot lead poisoning.
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So, Mr. "I'm a cop and I'll pretend I have a medical degree too", back at you!
Hey now! People are allowed to have double standards when it meets their needs <sarcasm>.
 @Damian I'll say it again,  He pointed a damn gun at the cops, what else could they do? He knew how to use it and was willing to do so.
Why did a demented man (in the literal, medical sense - not the figurative sense) have access to a loaded firearm?
It's sad that things ended this way, but a demented man with a gun is a threat to EVERYONE, not just police officers. The police did their grim duty, and while unfortunate, their actions are NOT regrettable.
 @Whobeke His family did not disarm him when they knew he no longer had the mental capacity to know what he was doing
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Such a tragedy... Â RIP, sir...
This is a sad story. The man could not think straight and was confused. He could not follow commands. He also probably was quite capable of shooting an Officer in that state of confusion. I am sure that the Officer/Officers that shot this man feel horrible.......NOW that all the facts are in. At the time that this happened, there were no facts. Prayers for all involved.
 @Beau's Mom The family should have taken all of his guns away, they probably feel more guilt over that.
 @DarkParty  @Beau's Mom I understand this very well, guilt included.  This could easily have been my father two years ago at midnight on New Year's Eve.  Living far away, and talking to him on the phone every week, I completely failed to appreciate how much he had deteriorated, because he could still talk a pretty good game, and I assigned the little anomalies to his bad hearing and declining eyesight.  He lived on his own, but my mother still saw him every week, so I trusted that things were well.  When it became clear that all was not well and that he needed to be taken to the ER and evaluated, my mother couldn't rouse him at his house.  Worried, she called the police, who also couldn't get him to answer his door.  Upon looking through a window, they spotted him with what they though was a firearm and immediately went into defensive positions with their weapons drawn.  My mother assured the police that my dad hadn't had guns in decades and there was no cause for worry.  Thankfully, things didn't end as they did for this gentleman.  My dad eventually answered the door, unarmed.  Imagine my horror when I went into his house the next day and discovered not one, but several guns, including a very powerful rifle.  Should I have known he had them?  Yes.  But the point of this very long response is that these situations are very difficult to deal with.  I'm sure his family feels guilt on top of everything else, and it's terrible the way this played out, but it is really difficult to know how to proceed when you have an elderly parent who is adamant and not rational.
@susie It's so hard and so painful... And there's nothing like adding a little guilt to make it even worse. I wish you luck with your dad, susie.
@belsnickles @DarkParty @Beau's Mom My father also has dementia and I understand. Until you go thru a parent having it, you have no idea.
Yes, they hold some responsibilty in this, sad to say. If he was that ill, he should not have been living alone. This could have been much worse. My Mother suffered as he did. We had to have her in several care places as her condition grew worse. Bless their hearts.....they don't know what they are doing when they are in that state.