W.Va. police agencies shoot 4 men in 1 week
SOUTH CHARLESTON (AP) — West Virginia police shot and killed four men in a week, and a State Police spokesman blames suspects’ growing aggression toward authorities.
Sgt. Michael Baylous calls it a moral failing. He also tells WSAZ-TV officers must make snap decisions about threats.
On Jan. 8, Lewisburg police killed 44-year-old Jimmy Hamlin Jr. of Kathleen, Ga., after he allegedly threatened them with a rifle.
Two days later, troopers killed 37-year-old John Dempsey of Logan after a chase in a vehicle he’d carjacked.
On Saturday, officers killed two men.
Kanawha County sheriff’s deputies shot 49-year-old Lawrence “Pete” Vaughn near Pinch after he shot at them.
And Mercer County deputies shot 31-year-old Jason Dillon after he allegedly tried to destroy a home near Montcalm with a chain saw and brandished a club-type weapon.
