Story By John Murray
Thu, 03/22/2018
Released From Protective Custody Day Before Shooting
On three consecutive days a former United States Marine, Michael Veillette, went up to Holy Land USA to commit suicide, and each time his plan was foiled.
The first attempt was thwarted by the compassion and love of a Marine Corps buddy, the second time he was arrested for carrying a pistol with an expired permit, and the third time he was shot in the hip by a Waterbury police officer and arrested again on a slew of charges. Inbetween the arrests Veillette was committed and evaluated at St. Mary’s Hospital, and released.
Tormented by PTSD from two tours of duty in Iraq, and depression, Veillette wanted out. He had intended to climb atop the hill at Holy Land USA and shoot himself at the base of the massive cross that overlooks Waterbury. This morning Veillette is in stable condition and will be arraigned at St. Mary's Hospital when the legal system delivers a judge, prosecutor, court reporter and public defender to conduct legal proceedings in his hospital room.
It didn't have to come to this. Veillette was in police and hospital custody on Tuesday night charged only with an expired pistol permit. Releasing a depressed suicidal veteran after three hours raises serious questions.
"The system failed Michael Veillette," said Brian Warren, a former U.S. Marine who served with Veillette in Iraq, and the man who talked his friend out of committing suicide Monday night. "Michael served his country with honor and needed help. He had tried to kill himself two days in a row. Why did the hospital release him with a serious mental health issue? He could have killed a cop. This was an epic mistake."read more here
This is pretty much how the rest of the press reported it.
State police: Waterbury police shoot armed man
FOX 61 News
BY BOBBY MARTINEZ AND JIM MCKEEVER
MARCH 21, 2018
WATERBURY — Connecticut State Police said they were called to the scene of an officer-involved shooting this afternoon.
State Police Troop A said they were alerted after Waterbury police shot an armed man around 4 p.m.
Waterbury Deputy Chief of Police Fred Spagnolo, said police came across a distraught individual carrying a shotgun at 60 Slocum Street near Holy Land in Waterbury. Spagnolo added that the man, Michael Veillette, 32, of Waterbury, was actively attempting to commit “suicide by cop.”
read more here
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