Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 20, 1994 TAG: 9409220031
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DIANE STRUZZI and RON BROWN STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"[West] hadn't shot anybody yet," Police Chief M. David Hooper said Monday. "He was still a threat, but he hadn't done it. There was still hope."
But as West felt the sting of pepper spray on his nose and chin, he exploded in anger. He raised the 20-gauge shotgun to his shoulder and leveled it at Lt. David Clayton, who dropped behind a car for protection. Within seconds, a barrage of gunfire ripped into West's body and the wall behind him.
"Everyone likes to know what they would do if they were in that situation," Hooper said. "But the only way you'll know is when you live and die by the choice. The choices are made in a matter of seconds. Nobody was looking for an opportunity."
The choice police faced was kill or be killed. Twelve hours later, another area police department wrestled with that same decision.
Early Sunday, Roanoke officers shot and killed West, a 34-year-old Floyd County man. He had kept police at bay for more than two hours as he brandished a gun at himself, two women and police.
Later the same day, a Christiansburg officer was killed by a suspected shoplifter whom he tried to stop. Officer Terry L. Griffith, 37, was killed by one shot to the head. Montgomery County deputies killed the suspect a short time later.
In each case, the decision to shoot was a split-second one. Police can be trained, but they are never fully prepared for that moment, experts say.
Policy at the Roanoke Police Department states that fatal force can be used only if a police officer's life or someone else's is in jeopardy. But that's just a guideline, Hooper said.
Each situation is different. Recruits go through hours of lectures on the use of deadly force, and then participate in simulations during their training, said Lt. William Althoff, who heads the Roanoke Police Training Academy.
"So many factors go into the decision," he said. "We're talking about a human being with multiple things to consider ... We want an officer to survive on the street. But we also want them to understand that a person's life is precious."
Grappling with those issues is not easy. While recruits are subjected to the same training, there's no way of telling how they're going to react in the field. A lot of discretion is left up to the individual officer.
"It's just not as black and white as the training objectives," said Gray Barnes, executive director of the New River Regional Police Academy in Radford. "It would be good if it's just a formula, but that's not the way it works."
In situations such as the one in Roanoke early Sunday, events can escalate too suddenly for officers to rely totally on the textbook.
The curbside drama moved from the parking lot of a Williamson Road restaurant - where West held his estranged girlfriend and another woman at gunpoint in a car - to the middle of a major thoroughfare, as dozens of people looked on.
When police arrived, the two women were sitting in the front seat of the car and West was sitting in the back seat with the shotgun propped up between his legs.
"He won't let us out," the women yelled to officers who had surrounded the car.
Clayton urged the women to get out of the car as West sat passively. Lisa Loflin, his estranged girlfriend, told police that he had been stalking her for a week.
He had gotten into the car earlier in the night, outside her apartment on Dale Avenue Southeast. Now, Clayton was asking the women what they could do to get him out of the car.
Loflin pleaded with him. She told West she still loved him, that she was willing to reconcile and even that she was pregnant with his child.
West didn't believe it. He said she was trying to trick him and that he didn't believe Clayton when he told him he wouldn't have to go to jail.
"Leave me alone," West said. "Don't get too close."
Clayton ignored his warnings and walked closer to the car. He hoped that he would be able to use pepper spray to disarm West.
As Clayton stood beside the car, West decided to get out. He ignored Clayton's warning to leave the gun inside.
West backed away from Clayton and inched his way to the center of Williamson Road. Police had blocked off traffic for about a two-block radius. West paced nervously along the yellow line in the middle of the road.
"I don't want to hurt you," he yelled at police.
Still, on at least two occasions, he leveled his shotgun toward Clayton. But 15 police officers held their fire.
At one point, police thought he was going to give up the gun without a struggle. He laid it down, but kept it near his hands.
Clayton continued to talk to him. West said he wanted to leave the area. Police told him no.
Police had considered trying to contact a member of West's family to come talk with him, but they were told that West wasn't close to his family, a source familiar with the investigation said.
As West became more antsy, Clayton decided he would have to act. He shot West with pepper spray, which threw him into a rage. West appeared ready to fire. That was when police, armed with shotguns and pistols, fatally shot West. He was struck nine times.
West never got off a shot, but police later found his gun was loaded.
Roanoke police internal affairs and the criminal investigations division continue to investigate the shooting. A ballistics report, which will include how many shots were fired and which ones killed West, has not been completed. Officials also await toxicology results on West, which will determine if he had been drinking or using drugs.
Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell, who will review the final reports, said it was too early to make any comment about the shooting.
Hooper wouldn't release the names of the officers involved, saying he wanted to first give them the opportunity for counseling.
The officers who shot West have been placed on administrative leave until the completion of the investigation. Clayton has returned to work.
Staff writer Stephen Foster contributed to this story.
by CNB