Two tour Iraq Veteran with PTSD killed by SWAT after VA sent him away

UPDATE

VA will pay for cremation of veteran shot in standoff
KSHB 41 News
Andres Gutierrez
May 29, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The family of Issac Sims, an Iraq War veteran shot and killed over Memorial Day Weekend, says the Kansas City Veteran Affairs Hospital will cover the cost to pay cremate and honor veteran.

Issac’s father Adrian Sims witnessed carnage during the Vietnam War, but wasn't ready to see his own son lifeless.
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Local veteran with PTSD killed in police standoff
KSHB.com
Andres Gutierrez
May 27, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A local veteran suffering from PTSD is killed in a police standoff and his parents said he sought help from the VA just two days before his death.

Issac Sims’ family said he spent every day last week coming to the VA hospital, but was told on Friday that he had to wait a month to be admitted for his PTSD. Sims, 26, was an Iraq war veteran.

On Sunday, Sims got into a fight with his father outside their home on 23rd and Lawndale. A neighbor called police when Sims fired gunshots.

When officers arrived, they decided to call in the SWAT team. The standoff ended when officers shot and killed Sims.

“I said ‘Don’t shoot him, I can get there without a problem,” Issac’s father Adrian said. In the aftermath, his mother Patricia attempted to save anything that belonged to her son from the gruesome scene, including his bloody shirt.

Army records show Sims served in Iraq for two tours. His family said he enlisted when he was 18 years old following his father who served in the Vietnam War and his grandfather who served in the Korean War.
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Before everyone gets all about blaming Retired U.S. Army General Eric K. Shinseki, know this. In 1993 my husband was told to "come back" because there were no beds for him. None of this is new. After all these years, all the lives lost after all the money the Congress has funded, when the hell will the Veterans Affairs Committees actually take their jobs seriously enough to actually fix this?

UPDATE

Veteran sought VA hospital treatment days before death
KSHB 41 News
Andres Gutierrez
6:59 PM, May 28, 2014
26 mins ago

KANSAS CITY, Mo - Patricia Sims struggles with the loss of her son Issac, shot when he pointed an assault rifle at police on Sunday.

“I can't believe I don't have my son, I miss him more than anything, I miss his noise,” she said.

The 26-year-old served in the U.S. Army for six years and what he witnessed during the two combat tours in Iraq left him with invisible wounds.

“An IED had exploded, he had body parts in front of him, he picked up all the body parts that stays with you,” Patricia said.

Army psychiatrists diagnosed Sims with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"He's been messed up since he left Iraq," his mother said.

Sims' behavior changed when he returned home last April. His mother said Sims would drive in the family's Humvee pretending Kansas City streets were Iraq's rugged terrain. According to his mother, at times, the veteran resorted to inhaling aerosols to escape reality.

In April, a judge put him on probation for two counts of domestic violence and ordered him to seek treatment for his PTSD.
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