Vietnam veteran killed by police in San Diego

Man Killed by Police Had Rifle-Replica Pellet Gun
John Edward Chesney, 62, was shot after about an hour-long standoff with police in the 900 block of Broadway
By Paul Kruger and Andie Adams
Thursday, Feb 27, 2014

San Diego police confirm that a Vietnam veteran killed by police sergeant in a downtown stand-off was holding a plastic pellet gun.

John Edward Chesney, 62, was shot after about an hour-long standoff with police in the 900 block of Broadway.

The dead man’s friends told NBC 7 they do not blame officers for Wednesday's deadly shooting, but still think that terrible outcome could have been avoided.

Those friends and Chesney’s landlord, David Reichbart, said Chesney had been in poor health and had significant mental health issues.

They also said he abused alcohol and became despondent and upset when he drank. “He would get kind of melancholy, kind of sad, thinking about his family, people that he’d lost, and just very emotional,” Reichbart told NBC 7 News.

Michael Michaud, who had known Chesney for seven years, thinks his friend was suicidal and recalls how Chesney recently told another friend that he “wanted to go out in a blaze of glory.”
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