HOUSTON -- A police officer shot and killed a wheelchair-bound double amputee during a confrontation Saturday morning, according to authorities.
The incident took place in a group home for the mentally ill where patients are placed there for 24-hour supervision after being released from hospitals.
Around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, police responded to the house on Polk near Sidney where they say a man had become irate with an employee who reportedly called 911.
Two minutes after the cops enter the house there was a single gunshot, said neighbor Randal Kingery. We immediately thought it was a suicide.
Brian Claunch, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was swinging an object that was later identified as a silver pen.
Police say that Claunch cornered one of the officers and ignored orders, so the officer s partner shot and killed him.
He got agitated in the middle of the night, he started to get a little bit violent. The person who stayed with him called police, called 911 said house manager Juan Garcia said. He had a temper. He could fly off once in a while. I don t want to say he did anything or they did anything.
Kingery said the police should have known what they were dealing with. He said he saw them there a month ago, and that it was no secret the residents had special needs.
For the cops to go in there with guns drawn, it s ridiculous, he said.
Garcia said he does not know if the lights were on or off when they entered, something that may have affected their decision to shoot.
