State troopers kill Mercer man during shootout

[HiredGoon]

State troopers kill Mercer man during shootout

Police: Victim had history of mental illness
Saturday, March 28, 2009
By Dan Majors and Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

MERCER, Pa. -- State troopers shot and killed a Mercer County man with a history of mental illness yesterday afternoon, police said, after he opened fire on them near his rural home.

Walter J. McGarvey, 45, of 850 River Road in Delaware Township, died of multiple gunshot wounds after firing at two troopers who were accompanying a Mercer County mental health representative to the home Mr. McGarvey shared with his parents in a sparsely populated, wooded area.

State police Capt. Scott Neal said Mr. McGarvey's parents had contacted mental health officials yesterday morning because of their son's "bizarre behavior."

The troopers, Capt. Neal said, were asked by mental health officials to provide an escort to the home because "there was a fear, a suspicion that [Mr. McGarvey] may have had access to weapons."

Capt. Neal said that upon arriving at the property just after noon, the troopers saw Mr. McGarvey approach them from around a building near the house.

When the troopers saw that Mr. McGarvey had a handgun tucked inside his belt, they instructed the mental health representative and Mr. McGarvey's parents to go inside the house. Capt. Neal said the troopers then ordered Mr. McGarvey to put the gun on the ground.

"He became agitated. He would not comply," Capt. Neal said.

The troopers then used Tasers in an attempt to subdue Mr. McGarvey.

"The Tasers were ineffective," Capt. Neal said. "We don't know why the Tasers were ineffective. He had a lot of clothing on, and it might have been because of the thickness of his clothing."

Mr. McGarvey then fled from the troopers, running across the road and into the woods about 100 feet from the house.

"He then abruptly stopped, drew his firearm, immediately turned on the troopers and began to fire," Capt. Neal said. "He fired two rounds, one of which struck one of the troopers' gun in its holster." The bullet also grazed the trooper's hand.

The troopers returned fire, striking and killing Mr. McGarvey. The trooper whose gun was struck was only able to fire it once. After that, Capt. Neal said, the gun would not fire.

Capt. Neal said the troopers, who were not identified, had been assigned to administrative duties pending an investigation of the incident.

"Based on the information we have right now, these officers followed procedure," Capt. Neal said. "We know that we get paid to do this job, and sometimes these situations can happen. From all appearances, these two troopers did everything they could to rectify the situation without it escalating to a deadly force situation, but it just didn't pan out that way."

Police said an inspection of Mr. McGarvey's gun, a .38-caliber revolver, showed that it had been fired twice and appeared to have misfired three times.

Capt. Neal said Mr. McGarvey had a history of mental health problems, which he wouldn't specify. He also wouldn't say whether the man had been taking any medication and wouldn't reveal what problem prompted his parents to seek the worker's help.

Mr. McGarvey's parents, whom police would not identify, declined to comment.

The wounded trooper was treated and released from Greenville Hospital last night.
Dan Majors can be reached at dmajors@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1456.

[1861]

A shame , But what had to be done . Glad the Troopers are okay.

[Tequila Sunrise]

My questions are , if he had a history of mental illness how did he have access to weapons? Did this guy live on his own or were they somebody elses weapons? If they are, then there ass should be on the line as well.

[Tequila Sunrise]

To make it clearer, I meant a seprate cottage from the parents.

[TaePo]

The troopers returned fire, striking and killing Mr. McGarvey. The trooper whose gun was struck was only able to fire it once. After that, Capt. Neal said, the gun would not fire

.

An unusual tactical reason to keep one in the pipe. I suspect this is the one shot that the trooper was able to fire.

Condolences all around for everyone involved, though.

[unclejumbo]

Glad to hear my brothers came out of this relatively okay. It was fortunate that the shooter's revolver misfired three times.

I feel for his family. It must have been gut wrenching to hear the gunfire and know what was happening.

[headcase]

Sad event all around. From the report, they did all they could and I am glad they are both OK.

[adymond]

It even sounds as though they were trying not to escalate it while in pursuit. The one trooper still had his service firearm in the holster while in pursuit. Sounds like a sad event all around.

Let's also be careful with the whole "history of mental illness" = prohibited person. Depression and ADHD have been labled as mental illness and neither of which should prohibit one IMO.

[Paradigm]

UPDATE: http://www.sharonherald.com/local/lo...088220429.html

Man killed by police was hit in abdomen

The 45-year-old mentally ill man who was shot and killed by state police troopers Friday after he pulled a revolver and shot one of them in the hand in New Hamburg, was hit twice by police gunshots, Mercer County Deputy Coroner Cris H. Loutzenhiser said.

Walter J. McGarvey Jr. was fatally wounded by a shot to the abdomen, Loutzenhiser said. McGarvey was also shot in the right leg, he said.

Two state troopers shot McGarvey between his parents’ split-level home and an adjacent trailer at about noon Friday at 850 River Road, next to the New Hamburg Oddfellows Lodge and just west of Lawango Creek in the heart of New Hamburg.

The troopers were assisting a Mercer County mental health delegate who was responding to a plea from McGarvey’s anguished parents to help their troubled son, police said.

The troopers’ names were being withheld and they have been placed on administrative duty until a probe into the shooting is complete.

It is the first time in recent memory that police shot and killed someone in Mercer County, retired district attorney James P. Epstein said.

Erie County Forensic Pathologist Dr. Eric Vey performed an autopsy on McGarvey Saturday.

Neighbor’s said McGarvey had a history of mental illness.

He grew up in New Hamburg and was the son of Beverly and Walter J. McGarvey Sr. and had lived in the Meadville area and in upstate New York before moving back home before winter. He’d worked as a mechanic.

He was a widower and had no children.

[adymond]

UPDATE: http://www.sharonherald.com/local/lo...088220429.html

The only reason I see to mention that he was hit in the abdomen would be to spin that the LEO weren't aiming for center mass, they were bad shots, or that they let him bleed out before calling for a rig. In any event being hit in the abdomen could easilly have hit his aorta which would have killed him within a minute or two.

Sad story no matter how you look at it.