David Joseph Kingsbury, 34, was fatally shot on June 26 in Springfield by a police officer.
Kingsbury was found to be mentally ill and had been the subject of three restraining orders at the time of his death, a report said.
Kingsbury’s history showed he had violent tendencies, including complaints from a neighbor that he threatened her with a knife, another who said he had broken windows in their second-story apartment, and a domestic abuse complaint reported by his girlfriend, among other complaints that included several fires he started, within days of his death.
I wonder why, if Kingsbury had been acknowledged as both mentally ill and violent, he did not have a safe haven or proper healthcare to prevent these tendencies? The mentally ill are often neglected in terms of health care resources here in America.
After responding to a 911 call, the Springfield officer that shot Kingsbury said that he prompted Kingsbury to open the door where he was located and Kingsbury did not respond. The officer was warned that Kingsbury had a knife when he responded to the call.
The officer kicked the door down to Kingsbury’s apartment and found it “dark and in disarray”. Kingsbury appeared in the door way with a large kitchen knife and, when he wouldn’t put it down, the officer said he believed he was in imminent danger of neck or other bodily injury, so he fired four rounds, and two struck Kingsbury, killing him.
To me, four rounds seems excessive, and why, with back up, the officers were not properly trained to disarm Kingsbury without shooting him seems murky. An eyewitness said she heard what sounded like a struggle, and the police officers making several attempts to communicate with Kingsbury to “stop struggling – stop resisting” before the rounds went off.
The toxicology report said that at the time of his death, Kingsbury had ethanol (drunk), marijuana (high), and had been on his antidepressants, bupropion. The combination of alcohol and medication may have set Kingsbury off, due to his mental illness.
A report from the DA’s office on January 5 concluded that the officer was validated in the Kingsbury’s shooting.
I have to say that with all the abuse by law enforcement that the media has brought attention to, this is a fairly understandable story. The officer was confronted by a man who was threatening the lives of his neighbors and their property and when confronted would not put down a deadly weapon (the kitchen knife was about 8 inches long).
How can we learn to prevent these situations from happening? How can we not have neighbors living in fear for their lives, or have one taken by the end of the day?
The key is better health care. It is something that we lack in this country. In particular, the mentally ill and the elderly, are treated as criminals or we neglect them.
They are left to self-medicate, and do not reach the havens they need to, to communicate issues they have on a day-to-day basis. Medication is unaffordable, and supervision may be needed in some cases to make sure medication is taken properly, or not abused.
These are issues that are left unresolved that become everyone’s problems. We must value each life and consider what each life needs to be successful and to live in a healthy mental state. Until we have better and more affordable health care for our largest minorities, the disabled, women, and the poor, we will have similar situations like this one every day.
Erika Hayden is a WSU student, citizen journalist and grassroots writer.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of this publication.
