Police accidentally shoot man who called 911 to report suspect sighting



Seriously?
JOANNA ROTHKOPF

A Washington (state) man, who has requested that his identity be withheld, was mistakenly shot by police after calling 911 to report that he had spotted a wanted suspect. Seriously.
The man had called the cops to say that he had seen John Kendall, a 59-year-old wanted for shooting his neighbor, 33-year-old Abigail Mounce in the face with a rifle earlier that day. When the SWAT team arrived at the scene, they saw a man who matched Kendall’s description and fired.
The police explained: “Law enforcement personnel watched as the citizen (believed to be Kendall) exited his vehicle and circled behind his trunk. Fearing that he armed himself, law enforcement fired multiple shots at the individual in order to stop the perceived threat before the citizen could enter the woods.”
Local NBC affiliate KGW.com reports on the baffling events:
The man was shot in the leg. He took cover behind a gravel pile and fired a shot back, then he called 911 again, this time to report that he had been shot.
Officers made contact with the man and provided first aid until he was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Kendall was found nearby a short time later with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was dead before police arrived, but he and his vehicle were obscured from the view of the SWAT team, according to the police statement.
It is unclear from published reports whether the police gave the man orders to stand down before firing.
The officers who shot at the man, Vancouver Police Corporal Chris LeBlanc, 47, Vancouver Police Officer Brian Frances, 38 and Clark County Deputy Anthony Spainhower, 39 have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.