It would appear that police officers these days are either really trigger happy or just simply treat all potential threats with a fatal response.
According to the Houston Chronicle, a Houston police officer shot and killed a one-armed, one-legged man in a wheelchair Saturday inside a group home after police said the double amputee threatened the officer by waving an ink pen and the officer.
Police spokeswoman Jodi Silva described the events detailing that the handicapped man cornered the officer while in the wheelchair while proceeding to stab the officer with the pen. Silva went on to say that the officer did not know what the pen initially was so he then shot the unarmed man.
She said the man came "within inches to a foot" of the officer and did not follow instructions to calm down and remain still.
"Fearing for his partner's safety and his own safety, he discharged his weapon," Silva told The Associated Press.
Police did not immediately release the name of the man who was killed. They had been called to the home after a caretaker there called and reported that the man in wheelchair was causing a disturbance.
John Garcia, the owner of the group home, explained to the Houston Chronicle that the man had a history of mental illness and had been living at the house about 18 months.
Garcia also said that the victim had lost his leg above the knee and all of one arm when he was hit by a train.
"He sometimes would go off a bit, but you just ignore it," Garcia told the newspaper.
Silva identified the officer as Matthew Jacob Marin, a five-year veteran of the department. He was immediately placed on three-day administrative leave, which is standard in all shootings involving officers.
Houston police records indicate that Marin also fatally shot a suspect in 2009. Investigators at the time said Marin came upon a man stabbing his neighbor to death at an apartment complex and opened fired when the suspect refused to drop the knife.
On Saturday, Marin and his partner arrived at the group home around 2:30 a.m. Silva said there were several people at the house at the time. The caretaker who called police waited on the porch while the officers went inside, she said.
"It was close quarters in the area of the house," Silva said. "The officer was forced into an area where he had no way to get out."
