Veteran left VA hospital, texted his good-byes before being killed by police

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 19, 2014

A Kentucky National Guardsman served two tours in Iraq. Justin Neil Davis was only 24. His last tour ended when he was 22 in 2012. Davis knew he was having problems. He had been in the VA rehab for 30 days but as it turned out, it didn't make that much of a difference.

Davis was one of the countless stories of veterans seeking help instead of denying they need it. That is the saddest part of all. They wanted to live, hoped to heal, reached out for help and tried the best they could to recover from combat. They are also the greatest example of how the government failed them.

A sad update to Veteran killed by police had just been to the Memphis VA

Germantown Police describe scene that led up to vet's shooting death

Members of GPD’s Crisis Intervention Team got to the park at 9:50 p.m. but, despite their attempt to talk with Davis over a loudspeaker and by cellphone, he threatened to shoot at them and “made statements about killing himself.” He asked them to turn off their bright lights.

Then Davis pointed the barrel of the rifle out the passenger side window toward police. Three officers opened fire, hitting Davis multiple times.

When the ambulance got to the park at 10:05 p.m., he was dead.

Davis, a veteran of the Kentucky National Guard, had served two tours in Iraq, the most recent ending in 2012, according to guard records.

Before his fatal encounter with police, Davis struggled with alcohol abuse and was released from a 30-day rehabilitation program in September, according to divorce papers filed by his wife in October. His father, a Navy veteran, died in February. By March, Davis was without a job.

Vallandinghan said Davis had an appointment at the Memphis VA Medical Center at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to have an MRI on his back, and that while he was there, told VA staff he was having suicidal thoughts.

After leaving, Vallandinghan said, he texted friends and family to say goodbye.

Three police officers are now dealing with the fact they had to kill a veteran who risked his young life and was failed by the VA. VA employees are wondering what else they could have or should have done differently. His family and friends are wondering what they should have done differently. Other veterans are wondering if this happened to Davis after he sought help to survive, what are their chances?

We have to talk about horrible outcomes if we are ever going to fix what has not worked. These are not just testimonials of current events but reflect what veterans have been facing for decades. It is only because the media was not interested in telling the stories of older veterans facing the same fates that the general public had no clue. Just because you are not aware there is a problem doesn't mean it wasn't shattering lives before you read about it in your local newspaper.
July 11 another veteran,

"Anthony Reardon, 44, of South Hampton, who allegedly stole and crashed police cruisers during a June 3 incident outside his home, appeared in Seabrook District Court on Thursday to finalize an agreement that would allow him to receive outside treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder instead of sitting in a jail cell and awaiting his indictment on numerous charges."

On July 4, 2014 41 Action News out of Kansas reported

Veteran Icarus Randolph was killed by police after family members called police to say he was suicidal. When police officers arrived he must have felt threatened and went after them with a knife in his hand. The taser did little good and according to police reports, that is when they opened fire killing him.

June 12 "An Iraq War combat veteran who held Northampton police on an armed standoff inside his girlfriend's borough home will serve four years of probation under a plea agreement that takes into account his post-traumatic stress disorder.

Scott P. Wines Jr., 29, served six tours in Iraq as a Marine and is now attending outpatient counseling twice a week to cope with what he experienced overseas, said defense attorney Rory Driscole.

June 8th it happened in Denver.

A police officer shot and killed a suicidal military veteran after the man aimed a rifle at the officer in the driveway of his home, according to police.

"He pointed the rifle," said Lt. Gary Millspaugh of the Aurora Police Department. "He was shot in the upper torso."

The man, whose identity has not been released, was rushed to an Aurora hospital Friday after the 4:04 p.m. incident and was later pronounced dead.

The officer who was involved in the shooting was not injured during the confrontation, police said.

A psychologist called 911 and said he had just received a call from a patient who was potentially suicidal, Millspaugh said.

It happened in May in Kansas City when Issac Sims was turned away from the VA after seeking help.

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.

May 14 it was a standoff in North Carolina Standoff with Soldier but he survived and was taken to get help.

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — An unidentified male soldier surrendered to Fayetteville police late Tuesday following a 90-minute standoff in the parking lot of a Walmart on Skibo Road.

Officers responding to the west Fayetteville store at about 10:30 p.m. found the man inside a car. According to authorities, he was threatening to harm himself.

Police cleared the parking lot, and customers were kept inside the store as a precaution.

"Cops told us to get in our cars, get back inside the building, because we were in the firing range," Robert Casey, a witness, told WRAL News.

The active duty soldier, who was believed to have a weapon, surrendered at about midnight, and he was taken to a local hospital for an evaluation. His name has not been released and it was unclear if he would face charges.

May 6 it was happening in Albuquerque to Armand Martin during a standoff with SWAT.

The family of Armand Martin says he was a colonel in the Air Force, but in the 27 years of his military career, they say he never saw combat until this weekend.

Albuquerque police said Martin fired shots from inside this house in Ventana Ranch on Saturday, but that officers did not return fire. Instead, they said crisis negotiators tried talking to him for several hours.

APD Deputy Chief Erica Garcia said Martin had been treated at the VA hospital for significant mental health related issues.