Houston Cop Kills Double Amputee in Wheelchair

A Houston cop has reportedly killed a one-armed, one-legged man in a wheelchair Saturday inside a group home after police allege the man threatened the officer and aggressively waved a metal object that turned out to be a pen.

According the Associated Press, Brian Claunch allegedly cornered the Houston cop in his wheelchair and was making threats while trying to stab the officer with the pen. At the time, the officer did not know what the metal object was that the man was waving, authorities said.

Authorities alleges the man came within inches of the officer and did not follow instructions to calm down.

The police had been called by a caretaker, who reported a man in a wheelchair causing a disturbance.

The owner of the group home, John Garcia, told the Houston Chronicle that the man had a history of mental illness and had been living at the house about 18 months. Garcia said the man had told him that he lost a leg above the knee and all of one arm when he was hit by a train.

“He sometimes would go off a bit, but you just ignore it,” Garcia told the newspaper.

The Houston cop involved has been identified as Matthew Jacob Marin, a five-year veteran of the department.  He was immediately placed on three-day administrative leave, which is standard in all shootings involving officers.

Houston police records indicate that Marin also fatally shot a suspect in 2009. Investigators at the time said Marin came upon a man stabbing his neighbor to death at an apartment complex and opened fired when the suspect refused to drop the knife.

Source : AP