Terminally ill Vietnam Vet shot by police in Seattle

Armed man shot by Kent cops was ill and wanted to be killed, family says
The family of a Kent man thinks he intended to be killed when he armed himself and confronted police Wednesday near the Kent Transit Center.
By Sara Jean Green
Seattle Times staff reporter

The armed man fatally shot Wednesday by Kent police was a terminally ill Vietnam veteran who had been deeply depressed, according to his adult daughters.

The three women and their mother, who had been married to the man for more than 20 years before they divorced a few years ago, cried and held each other soon after arriving near the Kent Transit Center, where the shooting occurred.

"I believe he came down here with the intent to be killed by police. He wouldn't hurt anybody," said the man's youngest daughter, declining to give her name or the name of her father.

The man, whose name has not been released by authorities, had been depressed and frustrated with his declining health, medical care and the amount of medication he was required to take, said his daughters. They said he was terminally ill and suffered from diabetes, hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver.

"He's the type that would give you the shirt off his back. He wouldn't threaten anybody," said his eldest daughter. "He's always just been so strong. I don't understand how this could be the end of it."

At 9:10 a.m., Kent police received a 911 call from a Far West cabdriver who was concerned about his passenger, said Cathy Schrock, spokeswoman for the Federal Way Police Department, which is investigating the shooting. The cabbie, who pulled over at the transit center and was able to get out of the cab, told the 911 operator his passenger held a rifle or shotgun across his knees, she said.
read more here
Armed man shot by Kent cops was ill