Versions of fatal shooting at odds

Don't call the police if you don't like the outcome, cry babies

My husband is bi-polar and suffered a psychotic episode in 2002. He went from upstanding citizen to crazy man ending up arrested several times for being a stalker among other things. His physical size is imposing. Although I wish the police could have been mind readers and doctors, I can not complain about his treatment. He was arrested in many places including Long Beach, Signal Hill and Los Angeles. He was never abused by any of the agencys who had to deal with him.

You have to admit that this situation is sad and unfortunate...
But there is no way to discern a person wiath a mental illness and a person who may have taken a hit of PCP, When an Officer of the law comes to respond to a scene they must treat the threat the same way, and try to neutralize it quickly.
They tried to use non- lethal force... I.E. Tazer, batons, and even physical contact...
but this was not enough. SUE got up punched an officer, and tried to take his baton away and what next?
take his gun,
kill the both of them,
steal their police cruiser,
Go on a rampage and run down some neighbors?
This man was in a obvious altered state of mind and any of these things are plausible, if the Officers failed to neutralize Him.
If this man wasn't a threat, why did the neighbors call 911?
Giveme a break Unarmed means nothing, When you can stand up after being tazed, and stil try to resist arrest.

According to the LASC criminal index, Mr. Sue had a 12/07 conviction for drinking in public, but that is all.

Maigret wrote:

According to the LASC criminal index, Mr. Sue had a 12/07 conviction for drinking in public, but that is all.

"Sue"?

I seem to remember a song about this guy... did the police make fun of his name? Maybe that set him off?

" Sue would sometimes assume an "alternative identity" that he believed made him a deity. "
If this dude was acting out the role of God, its easy to see how THIS SHOOTING WAS JUSTIFIED.

After all is said and done, the actions of the murdered man did not rise to the level that taking his life was justified.

The story going around is, that the suspect, after being confronted by the LBPD officers, became totally combative, and in the ensuing scuffle managed to grab one of the officer's baton/nightstick and menaced the officers with it.
Sometimes, our law enforcement authorities go overboard, and overreact in the heat of the moment. Sometimes, we cannot see the enormous threats that the officer's face out there on the street. This was, from my understanding, an individual who was a "huge" man--and very obviously out of control when confronted by the police. What it all boils down to is: when the police order you to submit, that means to submit----not start brawling with them. I feel awful for the family, but if this individual was in fact having some "mental issues" he should have been under a Dr.'s care, and not roaming the neighborhood in a highly agitated and most likely intoxicated state. It has been shown, in so many cases like this, that if the individual did not resist detention or arrest---there would have been a much different ending.

I feel after reading the story and the comments that the LBPD unforunately did the right thing. Its a police officers last resort to shoot someone. But obviously there was a threat and the police tried everything in their training to control the suspect and it didn't work. We can sit here and play Monday morning quarterback and say this or that and assume this or assume that but when it all comes down to it, the police officers there did their best and did what had to be done. Plain and simple.

I think the Press Telegram reporter needs to do a little more research about the area of the arrest. How many members of that "angry mob" attempted to kill a police officer a few months ago at that same place...

Maybe the reporter was at the LBPD Awards ceremony a few weeks ago they can read the story in the Awards Magazine about the situation... and I know the Press Telegram was there:

http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_9251032

I would take everything those mob members say with a grain of salt...

Most likely, a wrongful death lawsuit will result from this incident. I wonder who the city attorney will outsource this one to?

In my opinion there was no reason for the police to shoot the guy with a gun i think they should have used more taser dart just to calm him down but there is no reason to kill the man
R.I.P

This was a chaotic mess. The officers did the best job they could under the circumstances. Most people in this area don't like us anyways. They knew he had a serious mental illness yet they allow him to go without treatment then complain when the officer make a judgement based on information they beleived while the family stood by and KNEW he had a mental illness. PCP and bi-polar symptoms appear the same in many cases. If the officers were seriously injured then what would have been said?

I know everyone is entitled to their opinions but remember, you people out there dont have to deal with all those difficult people that PD has to deal with on a day to day basis, so dont be so quick to judge our officers. Like the other writers wrote you called them to protect you, well they did what they had to do.
Officers also have to protect themselves!!! Remember their job is no ordinary job... I truly consider them Long Beach's FINEST!!!!

Untreated mental illness + alcohol abuse + a large, extended family of enablers in denial = human powder keg.

Must be embarrassing for a family to get hit by a train they saw coming for years.

Could it be suicide by cop? Zell's paper says the guy had cancer, had refused chemotherapy, and was basically waiting to die.

Where were all these loud mouth family members to care for their neighborhood terrorist. I guess he was their ticket to the lawsuit lotto. Let the family lying begin!

Ignorance is at its peak here. If that was "the best these cowards could do", its a shame whom you glorify. These cowards do not live in the community in which they serve and no intentsions improving the quality of the neighborhoods. This issue should not happen in the future if there is propper conduct. Their lives were not in danger, this is only an excuse for missconduct.

Citzen of Long Beach wrote:

THESE COPS SHOULD ALL BE IN PRISON FOR MURDER. THE COMMUNITY PAYS THESE LOW LIFES ONLY TO SUPPORT BRUTALLITY AND VIOLENCE. THEY SHOULD CUT OFF ALL THEIR BUDGETS AND DECREACE THEIR SALLARIES FOR WASTING THE COMMUNITES MONEY. THESE ACTS ARE DISPICALBE, THE LBPD SHOULD BE ASHAMED, PUNNISHED AND HELD RESPONSIBLE. THE COMMUNITY WILL RISE UP AND PUT A STOP TO POLICE MISCONDUCT.

There was no misconduct here. Police were doing their job. Of course the family will say the police were wrong; this is their winning lottery ticket. Why didn't the family step in sooner and control this man before the police were called? Now he's gone and they're the ones who should be held liable. They should've gotten him help and not blame everyone else for the result that happened.

The above post by statement Citzen of Long Beach is just stupid and wrong. I'm sick of these people trying to blame the cops on having to react. They are human...just like you. They don't get paid enough for risking their lives and you want to cut their budget? Just because you don't have enough balls or brains to do their job, don't knock them for it.