Official: Shooting by deputy justified
Mentally disabled man charged deputy after attacking family
By Andy Paras
MONCKS CORNER — A Berkeley County sheriff's deputy was justified in shooting a mentally disabled man who charged the deputy Sunday while wielding a metal chair and screaming threats, a top administration official said Tuesday.
William Aimar Schumaker
"You have a 300-pound man with a metal chair who is off his medicine, who already stabbed one person and tried to stab his mother, coming at the deputy with the metal chair, screaming, 'I'm going to kill you,'" Maj. Ricky Driggers said.
"In my opinion, he acted within policy."
William Aimar Schumaker died Monday from the gunshot wounds.
Deputy Brian Fenton and another deputy responded to 96 Cornell Drive in the College Park subdivision about 3 a.m. Sunday after dispatchers alerted deputies that a mentally disabled man off of his medications was chasing his sister with a butcher knife.
The Sheriff's Office said Schumaker, 30, had already cut his sister with a knife and had beaten and attempted to stab his mother when deputies arrived.
The other deputy tended to the mother and sister while Fenton addressed Schumaker, Driggers said.
Schumaker charged at the deputy with a metal chair, Driggers said. Fenton, a three-year veteran with the department, first tried to use pepper spray on Schumaker but it didn't slow down the man, Driggers said.
"It didn't affect him at all," Driggers said. "He was screaming, 'I'm going to kill you.' The deputy, by policy, discharged the firearm, ending the threat."
The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating the incident, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.
Schumaker's mother, Patricia Hyman, told The Post and Courier on Monday that she was not angry with the deputy but questioned whether they could have done something aside from using lethal force.
Driggers said officers are not trained to fire warning shots or to aim at limbs. They are trained to stop the threat. "These deputies have to react within seconds," he said.
He said Berkeley County deputies do not carry Tasers, a device increasingly used by law enforcement agencies to incapacitate suspects, because of pending litigation over Taser-related deaths.
"Once these Tasers prove to be perfectly safe, we will look at obtaining them," he said.
Taser has always maintained that using its product significantly reduces the risk of injury to suspects and officers than not using it.
Peter Holran, vice president for public relations and government affairs for Taser International, said law enforcement agencies are not liable for product liability claims, only excessive-use-of-force claims. He said courts generally have held that proper use of the Taser device is not excessive use of force and that it has helped reduce the number of claims against departments.
The company said 165 South Carolina law enforcement agencies use Tasers.
According to his family, Schumaker was bipolar and schizophrenic and had not had his medication in about two weeks because his insurance had lapsed.
North Charleston police arrested and charged him with simple assault March 24, 2008, after police said he punched a man six times in the face because the victim asked him for a cigarette. Schumaker told police that he became angry because everyone was asking him for a cigarette.
Earlier postings of this story contained an error. William Schumaker was arrested by North Charleston police and charged with simple assault on March 24, 2008. The Post and Courier regrets the error.
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Comments
nighteyes (anonymous) says...
Just as I thought. JUSTIFIED. Eat that, nay-sayers! :)~
April 29, 2009 at 2:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
whalernut (anonymous) says...
Yesterday I put blame on the department for this horrible tragedy. And today I still do. Why couldn't the house been evacuated and him cornered. They say these deputies are trained to kill and not to mane. Well they are also trained to use good judgment while protecting themselves and the ones around them. No matter what the outcome was it is always up for speculation. I believe that there was a way to avoid killing this mental challenged person. I am sorry for the family and the deputies involved. I do not believe they are at fault nor do I believe they should be punished or ridiculed for there actions. That place was obviously walking like walking into an inferno. I just wish the outcome could have been different and that he had not lost his life.
April 29, 2009 at 5:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
proudsupporter (anonymous) says...
"Why couldn't the house been evacuated and him cornered"
Once again the P&C doesn't give all the details..but at this point there is no more to say. It has been justified.
Please do not judge this deputy anymore..He did what was needed to protect everyone involved. And please remember that this deputy and his family read all of these comments..I am sure both families are dealing with enough stress at this time without having to keep reading harsh words over and over.
April 29, 2009 at 6:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wonderdog (anonymous) says...
whalernut, you must have information about the incident that the department and others don't have. Please share.
April 29, 2009 at 7:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
BootstrapRed (anonymous) says...
We must all support our LEOs and trust the investigative bodies to return fair and impartial reports regarding shootings in the line-of-duty.
This incident is tragic, but justified.
April 29, 2009 at 7:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
stephaniem (anonymous) says...
the internet article stated that the man sliced his sister's neck.
I remember that as I was in a similiar situation 3 yrs ago
300lbs, making threats and mentally ill -- you can't judge someone who has to react in a couple seconds to defend themselves.
they need to bring back tasers though, bullets kill alot
tasers kill a little -- what is the justification
mentally ill people need their meds even if they don't have insurance-- for public safety sake
April 29, 2009 at 8 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
katrenavantassle (anonymous) says...
Insurance lapsed, no meds for two weeks...already diagnosed bipolar and schizophrenic...yet at home with his mother and sister to deal with it alone. What in the world were they thinking? They should have applied for Medicaid and put him in a place like the COASTAL CENTER A LONG TIME AGO!
I think the officer in question did EXACTLY what he was supposed to do. DIFFUSE THE SITUATION! However, I do not think that killing the man was the only choice he had. He could have came to the home PREPARED with enough help to hold the man down and put him in a straightjacket and then have taken him to hospital where he could have been given his meds and controlled.
Back in the day, we used to kid around and say that we'd call the men in white coats to get someone to take to the insane asylum, but I guess they don't do that anymore.
Alot of people on mind drugs like prozac etc...today.
Guess we can expect more of this since our country's health insurance is so high that normal families cannot afford it.
April 29, 2009 at 9:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MurphDaSurf (anonymous) says...
The Post & Courier stoops to a new low. Nice picture of the suspect, is that his high school picture because he weighed about twice as much as in the photo. After using pepper spray on the butcher knife wielding lunatic failed and the suspect picked up a metal chair in an attempt to kill the deputy or cause him grievous bodily injury, the deputy had no choice but to stop to crazed suspect. Clever tactic, using the word "disabled." Sort of makes you think he was in a wheel chair or on crutches. He had two potentially dangerous mental disorders, bipolar and schizophrenia. A law enforcement officer is under no obligation to retreat from a dangerous suspect when enforcing the law; the suspect is under obligation to comply with the law enforcement officer's commands! I guess the P&C thinks it would have been a little more justified if Mr. Shumaker had disemboweled someone first? The man's blood is on his own hands.
April 29, 2009 at 9:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
greygirl (anonymous) says...
So many of you are so quick to judge the Deputy's actions. Put yourself in their shoes and see how you would react. The Deputy did what was best for all parties involved. However, had he had a taser and did not use it instead electing to use deadly force, that would be different. That was not the situation. Do a little research on what officers are taught in the Academy. Maybe what everyone should be complaining about is why the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office does not have tasers and just about every other local department does. Maybe we should be blaming the Sheriff for this death and not the deputy. Until you have had experience with someone with such severe mental problems, who are not on their medicine, you can talk all you want. I am pretty sure the Deputy weigh a whole lot less than the man he shot, so holding him down until back-up arrived - not really an option!! Most of do not have jobs that put us in harms way EVERY day we go into the office. We should be thankful we have those who are willing to take those jobs others of us are scared of taking and respectful to those are brave enough to do so.
April 29, 2009 at 10:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Lovely_One (anonymous) says...
steph, "Shhhh! Just walk away quietly before anyone notices."
April 29, 2009 at 10:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
my2centsworth (anonymous) says...
The story is slightly misleading - unless they are withholding information due to privacy issues with the individual. I worked with mentally challenged people in a daycare workshop type setting several years ago. One of our "students" decided to take a broken piece of 2 x 4 to several of the staff's automobile windows and hoods - etc. The police were called in and they would not approach this guy because he was weilding a potentially deadly weapon. They had revolvers trained on him and -would- have shot him had his mother not been able to talk hinm down.This individual was legally recognized as mentally ill. Regardless, they would have shot this man and killed him. I can't say that it would be totally wrong, either, because mentally challenged or mentally ill, once they pick up a weapon, and make threats with it, they're the same as any other individual with a weapon.
I feel great sympathy for the mother and the family of the man. They can testify to the volatility of the man.
April 29, 2009 at 11:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
chilidawg (anonymous) says...
katrenavantassle: Like most police agencies, BCSO is undermanned for a number of reasons so "holding him down" until back up arrives (usually about 10 min at best) was not an option. Many times deputies have to deal with situations alone because their back up can be 20 or more miles up the road.
Maj Driggers has already answered the taser question. Go back and re-read the article.
Everyone wants their opinions heard, but often there are no viable solutions to go with the opinions. Adding more deputies, tasers, psych training for deputies would all add to the department budget which would have to be footed by the taxpayer.
Before the readers voice their opinions, put yourself in the shoes of Deputy Fenton.
April 29, 2009 at 1:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lawguy (anonymous) says...
For all you who question the cops, This is why we react the way we do:
Sheriff: Man killed 2 deputies after being stunned
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Two deputies killed by a soldier they were trying arrest for beating his wife exchanged multiple rounds with the man who began shooting while on the ground after he was shocked with a stun gun, authorities said Sunday, a day after the men were killed.
"When that Taser released after five seconds, he came up shooting," Interim Okaloosa County Sheriff Edward Spooner said.
"He went from just being disagreeable to using deadly force in a matter of seconds. It was a very aggressive move with a concealed weapon on his part."
Spooner said that between 30 and 40 rounds were exchanged between Cartwright and the two deputies.
Investigators were working to determine the extent of 28-year-old Joshua Cartwright's military and militia weapons training, Spooner said.
Cartwright was killed by deputies in a neighboring county after he fled a shooting range parking lot near Crestview where he killed deputies Burt Lopez and Warren "Skip" York.
Cartwright's truck flipped on its side after the tires were punctured by spikes at a roadblock.
"When he had his crash, the truck flipped upside down, nose first and he came out of the backside of the truck firing immediately and using the truck for cover," Spooner said.
Investigators say Cartwright and deputies exchanged about 60 rounds in 30 to 40 seconds before he was shot and killed. They are awaiting autopsy results to determine whether either of the slain deputies struck Cartwright before they died.
April 29, 2009 at 2:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
eyfigueroa (anonymous) says...
"steph, "Shhhh! Just walk away quietly before anyone notices."
LOL
I was thinking the same thing.
What's up Lovelyone?
April 29, 2009 at 2:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Lovely_One (anonymous) says...
Hey eyfig! LOL! I couldn't resist. I'm good. What's going on with you?
April 29, 2009 at 2:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SCPDBLUE (anonymous) says...
lawguy, I too read the loss of our brothers in Fla. Did you also know we lost one in Ala. on the same day and his partner is fighting for his life? The people who second guess what we do have no idea. Until they have rounds flying over ther heads , feel the sting of a bullet,have to watch another young man 85% of the time a young black man dead at your feet,help pull a person out of a car that was hit by a drunk driver so hard that person body parts are imbeded in the door of the car,a childs lifless body in the bottom of a pool staring up at you as if to say HELP ME,why didnt you help me.Then you go home and you spouse who says how was your day? then you are served lasagna and when you look at it it reminds you of the teenage boy who blow his head off with a shotgun because his first ever girlfriend brokeup with him. . this deputy did his job and now he will live with shooting a person for the rest of his life.Untill then they now NOTHING.
April 29, 2009 at 7:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
applicant (anonymous) says...
I am sorry folks, the deputy did not have to kill this man? Yes, he could have retreated. What is wrong with that? It would have hurt his pride? Would this deputy have shot his own brother or father under the exact same circumstances? That answer is NO. Berkleley County get ready to be served with a lawsuit just before the statue of limitations. Good thing the taxpayers support their local sheriff. They will pay for this settlement. Police officers who think it is alright to shoot and kill someone just because they are sworn to protect and serve are out of touch with the people they are sworn to protect and serve.
April 29, 2009 at 7:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
applicant (anonymous) says...
PS: SLED and the solicitor's office are cesspool agencies.
April 29, 2009 at 7:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Halcyon (anonymous) says...
Why all the TASER talk in this article? Even if the deputy had access to a TASER, that would not have been the appropriate response to the threat which was posed to him.
April 29, 2009 at 7:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
applicant (anonymous) says...
To all who agree that this is a justified killing: The next time one of your loved ones has issues, call your local sheriff's office, request that the responding deputy shoot him or her... double tap, center mass, with a 40 caliber weapon - problem solved!
April 29, 2009 at 7:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wonderdog (anonymous) says...
If my loved one is coming after me with a butcher knife (a/k/a "has issues"), you can bet your a z z I would call 911 and expect the LEO to take the necessary action to protect me and/or himself. If you don't want the LEO to do his job and to protect you, don't call 911, and you can sweet talk the deranged assailant out of murder yourself.
Self defense.......not a complicated concept.
April 29, 2009 at 9:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
WVGirl (anonymous) says...
To Deputy Fenton and his Family and Friends,
Thank you. I know this is a difficult time but I needed to say thank you! The men and women that serve our country do not get the Thanks that they deserve and it seems like people always want to point thier finger and speculate and say "What if". I however thank god that we the people of the United States have brave individuals like yourself that get up every day and put on thier uniform and go to work to PROTECT US THE PUBLIC!!! People can sit back and judge you but don't pay them attention because they were not even brave enough to put on that uniform! No matter what anyone says I know you did what YOU thought was right and no one else could have made that dicision for you! Please disgard all the nasty things that people write or may say...take a deep breath and remember you were and are brave enough to take on the challenge they were not!!! Once again THANK YOU DEPUTY FENTON!!! God Bless you and protect you and your family!
April 29, 2009 at 9:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
pss (anonymous) says...
Having a taser can be one additional tool. If Goose Creek can issue every officer a taser and be so politically correct why doesn't BCSO. I would think it would decrease the possiblity of lawsuits by not always shooting people as a last and only result. Brian you did right in that circumstance.
April 29, 2009 at 10:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
outsiderlookingin (anonymous) says...
Dear "Applicant"
You obviously can not let this go for whatever reason. You say that Deputy Fenton could have "retreated"- yeah that would have been a fantastic idea.... did you not read the part of the article that stated that the man had beaten his mother, beat and stabbed his sister, and threatened the life of Deputy Fenton as well..... Retreating would have been fantastic.... since you say he could have done this- sure, why not- had Deputy Fenton hidden in his car like you suggest- I am sure he then would have been called "another name for a cat" had that been the route he chose- all the while the deceased would have been finishing off the job he started with the butcher knives he was weilding.
So, I am guessing if you have any siblings that one day may attempt to kill you, I guess you would rather not call the police and let them protect you- you obviously must think that the lives of your family members are more important than your own, and must not want to live that badly anyway.
By the way, police officers are sworn to protect and serve, not to run away... and it's not a macho thing- it is necessary to keep the peace- Yes, Deputy Fenton did protect and serve- if you re-read these articles you will find that 2 women's lives were saved because of him.
So, please continue to preach your sermons.... until the time comes in which you must make a decision that says its either you die or a person in a psychotic rage (or not), who will you choose? I bet you choose life for yourself!
P.S. The man was not trying to "hurt" his family or the deputy- he was trying to KILL them!
April 29, 2009 at 11:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
applicant (anonymous) says...
My opinions have been posted. I rest my case...
April 30, 2009 at 7:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
fentonsupporter (anonymous) says...
Being a Proud Member of the Fenton Family. I must say that I am Proud of my Cousin Brian Fenton. He did what he had to do and Two women's lives were saved. Thank you to WVGirl for you prayers to Brian and his family.
April 30, 2009 at 12:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Sharpshooter308 (anonymous) says...
applicant, I know what it feels like to lose a friend,but in my case in was my father-in-law,My law enforcement partner.His name is S.C. State Constable Robert Bailey. he was shot and killed in the town of Lincolnville,his body was loaded up driven 50 miles away and buried in a cornfield without his uniform in a shallow grave.My partner was very in touch with the people he served and protected,we used to go by the Summerville little league and play catch with the kids,teach them to stay away from drugs, let the turn on the siren and just listen to what they had to say.My father-in-law was honored by the Summerville little league for his work with the kids and the community.A monument in his honor rest between the flag of our great country and the flag of the great state of S.C..he was proud of many thing and two things he was proud of and that was being an American and serving the people of this great state with honor,duty and courage but on the night of May 14th 2007 a scumbag shot and killed a very important man in my life,a man I respected not only as my father-in-law but as my police partner in the greatest job ever and that is as a State Constable.He had no chance to retreat or even go for his gun.If the deputy waited or backoffed,his pride would have been the least of his worries. My partners name was added to the police memorial in Washinton,DC along with 188 officers of the law who were killed in the line of duty serving and protecting their communites in 2007. So please dont second guess a police officer or any law enforcement officer unless you are in that uniform at that time and place.
April 30, 2009 at 6:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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