Police vs Veterans

UPDATE
Add Gregory Smith to the list.

Father of US Army vet who was shot and killed discusses his son's PTSD
KVIA ABC News
Alec Schreck, Alec Schreck
Sep 21, 2014

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico
Gregory Smith says he tried for years to get his son to seek treatment from the VA for his PTSD. Smith told KVIA that his son William Smith served in the Army from 2003-2007. He said his son was not the same when he returned from his second tour.

Following several years of difficulty where the younger Smith struggled with PTSD, several criminal arrests and the use of illegal street drugs, former US Army Sergeant William Smith was shot and killed by a New Mexico state policeman on Friday.
read more here

Jacinto Zavala was killed by police officers and they have been cleared. Never a good ending for the veteran or the officers. This one is more tragic because Greeley Police Chief said "I am both saddened and angry that this individual put our young officers and their families through this. I am equally sad that he inflicted pain on his own family members." Didn't he feel sad that after a 21 year old veteran reached the point where he wanted to die? It happened in August and the headline read "Man fatally shot by police in Greeley"

It happened in September to "Jeffrey Johnson, the 33-year-old father and veteran killed during an officer-involved shooting" after his wife called police to help her husband.

It happened in August when six bullets ended life of Marine Cpl. Allan DeVillena II when he was 22.

In July

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.

And in Kansas

Police say Icarus Randolph charged at an officer with a knife after they were called to the scene by family for a report of a suicidal person. The family said the man was in the military and had done tours in Iraq. He had been dealing with mental issues prior to this incident.

In June
"A psychologist called 911 and said he had just received a call from a patient who was potentially suicidal" and police shot him in his driveway in Denver.

In May

Jerome Christmas died Saturday after a struggle with Shreveport police, and while witnesses said he was acting wild before it happened, his brother knew a completely different person.

Witnesses say they saw Jerome Christmas go crazy, throwing things, getting undressed, talking to himself, and acting as though he was on fire. Christmas' brother Drake said his brother was a veteran who served his country, and suffered from PTSD.

It keeps happening but no one seems bothered by the simple fact when it does, the veterans had gone from risking their lives to facing off with police.

It is sad for the police officers, families and community but the fact this keeps happening should never be forgotten. They lived for others but died because they didn't get the help they needed and were promised for doing a job few others wanted to do.