[kellyhound]

The man shot and killed by a Rush Springs Police officer during a domestic violence investigation was identified at a press conference on Friday.

Thomas Joe Vandermark was described as a white male, about 65 years of age, Rush Springs Police Chief Fred Payne, said.

On July 6 at about 10 p.m., Rush Springs Police Officer, Daniel Smith responded to a call in which a woman had called 911 but was not speaking directly to dispatchers. The woman can be heard referring to being hit and a man having a gun on the call.

When Smith arrived, he could see that Vandermark had a weapon as he exited the house. Smith asked Vandermark to show his hands, but Vandermark did not comply, Payne said.

Smith took cover behind his patrol car. According to Payne, Vandermark advanced despite several warnings to stop and drop his weapon. Vandermark also allegedly made threats to fight the officer, Payne said.

According to Payne, Smith was justified in using deadly force against Vandermark because Vandermark had a gun and refused to comply with demands, made threats against the officer and advanced towards the officer while holding the gun.

Payne said that as Vandermark decreased the distance between himself and the officer, the potential to shoot and strike Smith increased.

Smith fired one shot and Vandermark fell to the ground.

When Smith checked for a pulse, he was interrupted by the female victim, identified as the suspect's girlfriend. Smith ordered her to stay back. He checked a second time and found no pulse. He then radioed dispatch to send EMS.

"Officer Smith was the lone officer on scene with multiple people present and more arriving," Payne said. Those who arrived parked near Smith's patrol car. He ordered them to stay back for his and their safety, Payne said.

The suspect's son arrived on scene and asked if his father was breathing. When Smith said he was not, the son allegedly went home to get a firearm. Smith again radioed for backup and took cover behind a pickup parked near the house.

While backup was on the way, six shots were fired by the suspects's son from his residence, somewhere in the immediate area. Smith radioed that shots had been fired and retreated into a wooded area.

A few minutes later, the officer called dispatch by phone to advise them that he was outnumbered and the suspect's son was firing shots.

Backup arrived around 10:10 p.m.

Payne said, to his knowledge, the son was not arrested.

"In this situation if Mr. Vandermark had complied, this situation would have ended totally different."

[Susan]

These police shootings are either getting more common or i've only just started noticing them.

[DaveTheBassist]

Pretty good shot with a pistol.

[Algondus]

This is a really good example of what police are supposed to be doing. The suspect had a firearm, disobeyed commands, approached, and said "fuck you", so the officer fired a single shot. The suspect went down, the officer then approached and neutralized him. Notice he didn't keep screaming at him and firing 12 shots into him on the ground while he's dying? This was a perfectly justified shooting. One less piece of shit in the world. Good job.

[moticos]

Originally Posted by slyksleevemuckyey ↗

These police shootings are either getting more common or i've only just started noticing them.

In addition to police body cams, almost everybody in the world has access to record video on their phones. That wasn't really a thing 10 years ago. So, expect to see a lot more coverage of these incidents throughout the world.

And with easy tranfer to social media, these things go viral and are fodder for corporate media outlets who agressively broadcast the footage with creative bents turning people against each other which in turns fuels more violence. It's a viscious cycle, and it's about to get worse

[b0g]

The point of no return has been reached in a country that prohibits carrying tennis balls, but you are allowed to open carry a gun. (Cleveland)

Note he puts his glasses on the car so he could get a better view of what the suspect was doing.

[Feirefiz]

It's a warzone!

[Robyn728420]

Pretty fucking calm ain't he

[Mercurio]

Wow. One shot, one kill. Usually you see cops bursting at least 4-5 rounds into an approaching suspect but this cop just executed the dude.
#averageday

[type00rev]

Good shootin', officer.