St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office lost two deputies to suicide

1-Month-Old Baby Orphaned After Both Parents Die by Suicide Within Days of Each Other

PEOPLE
By Katie Campione
January 05, 2022

"While it is impossible for us to fully comprehend the private circumstances leading up to this devastating loss, we pray that this tragedy becomes a catalyst for change, a catalyst to help ease the stigma surrounding mental well-being and normalize the conversation about the challenges so many of us face on a regular basis," Mascara concluded his statement.

Clayton Osteen, 24, and Victoria Pacheco were both St. Lucie County Sheriff deputies and shared a one-month-old son named Jayce

The infant son of two Florida sheriff's deputies is orphaned after both of his parents took their own lives.

Clayton Osteen, 24, and Victoria Pacheco both died by suicide in the past week, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said on Tuesday.

Shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve, authorities received a call that Osteen had attempted suicide. He was transported to the hospital for his injuries.

On Jan. 2, Osteen's family decided to remove him from life support, the sheriff's office said.

In the wake of her partner's death, Pacheco also died by suicide, the sheriff's department learned on Tuesday. Osteen and Pacheco shared a 1-month-old son named Jayce.

Osteen joined the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office in 2019. In 2020, he was awarded deputy of the year, according to his obituary.
read more here

'Close' Relative to Adopt Baby of Deputies Who Will Be Laid to Rest Together After Tragic Deaths

Osteen — a Florida native — was a former SWAT team member and was named 2020 Deputy of the Year, his obituary said. He also served in the U.S. Marines and as a non-commissioned officer. Loved ones remembered him for his humor and dependability.

Fort Worth veteran shot by SWAT Team had PTSD

Man fatally shot by Fort Worth police was Army veteran in constant pain, family says

Star Telegram
BY MITCH MITCHELL
JUNE 07, 2019

Cody Seals turned toward an officer, still locked out in a shooting stance, and pointed the light at him, which was later determined to be a flashlight, police said. Believing officers were about to be fired upon, a SWAT officer fired his weapon.

FORT WORTH
Sometimes the battles soldiers fight after they return from war are the most unforgiving, the family members of a man police killed last weekend said.

Cody Wayne Seals served in the U. S. Army between 2004 and 2008, doing more than one tour in Iraq, his mother, Sandra Seals, said.

Between 2008 and now, she got sick, her son got sick and he moved in with his father, she said.

A Fort Worth Police Department SWAT officer shot and killed Cody Seals, 38, on the evening of June 1 after a three-hour standoff at his home.
read more here

Before it gets to the point where veterans are facing off with Police Officers, which many of them are also veterans, isn't it time that veterans actually got the message they have been needing to hear? #BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife so you can heal and be happier!

With all the repulsive raising of awareness that suicides are happening...we need to remember that message is not healing. Veterans already know how to kill themselves. What they do not know is why they should stay alive!

UPMC chaplain among wounded in synagogue mass shooting

Veteran police officer, UPMC chaplain among wounded in synagogue mass shooting

Pittsburg Post Gazette
Shelly Bradbury
October 28, 2018

Pittsburgh police officer Tim Matson is seen here after receiving an award at the 19th Annual Law Enforcement Agency Directors Awards Ceremony on Jan. 27, 2017. Officer Matson was one of four officers wounded in the Squirrel Hill synagogue mass shooting on Oct. 27, 2018.

A veteran Pittsburgh police officer known for keeping his cool under pressure and using humor to defuse tense situations was one of four officers wounded while responding to an active shooter Saturday at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill.

Pittsburgh police Officer Timothy Matson cracked jokes in his hospital room Sunday, a day after he was shot multiple times and critically injured while confronting the shooter who killed 11 people.

“We were in his hospital room today, visiting, and as soon as we walk in he’s already cracking jokes,” Cmdr. Jason Lando said. “He’s in that situation, where his life is the one in danger, and everyone is so worried about him — but he’s cracking jokes and it makes everyone feel better.”

That’s just the type of guy he is, Cmdr. Lando said. Officer Matson joined the department in 2005 and was assigned to Zone 5. He has been a part of the city’s SWAT team since 2016.

“When bullets are flying and people’s lives are in danger, Tim Matson is the guy you want going through the door,” Cmdr. Lando said. “He’s the guy who goes in and calmly gets the job done.”

An online fundraising campaign for Officer Matson raised nearly $20,000 Sunday.
read more here

Too many veterans facing off with police officers

How much louder do they have to scream? That was the question a couple of weeks ago when we posted about veterans committing suicides in very public ways. 

Last year, veterans were facing off with law enforcement officers every week. Now there are three within 3 days.

Man taken to hospital after barricading himself inside Byron hotel
The standoff began when police went to do a welfare check and found the man had barricaded himself inside the room
Author: WMAZ Staff
July 24, 2018

When police arrived, they found the door barricaded with all the furniture inside the room.

The SWAT team was called in after family members and police were not able to make contact.

The man inside was confirmed as a military veteran, and police are saying he is under intense mental and physical stress.

No weapon was found and police say he never threatened anyone or himself.
read more here

Man charged with Domestic Battery after Cape Coral standoff
FOX 4 News
Jul 24, 2018

CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- A several-hour long standoff with deputies ended safely Monday with the suspect in jail for Domestic Battery.

Cape Coral Police responded to a welfare check in the 900 block of SW 47th Terrace after a wife called the VA clinic to report her husband was having combat flashbacks and threatened to harm himself.

Deputies responded and attempted to contact the resident, 48-year-old Michael DeArmas, who refused to come out or cooperate with deputies. He later walked out and was taken into custody without incident.

DeArmas' wife spoke to detectives and told them that DeArmas is a combat veteran who has flashbacks and becomes delusional, especially when drinking, as the couple had been doing last weekend.

She said he had access to guns and had threatened to kill himself and their dog.
read more here

Deadly officer involved shooting after standoff in West Central Fresno
July 21, 2018

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- With Action News cameras recording from a distance and witnesses hiding out in neighboring hotel rooms, Fresno Police officers shot a man in the parking lot of the Parkway Inn.

"Officers fired two rounds. One of those rounds struck the suspect at which point he dove right in through a broken window into the hotel room," said Deputy Chief Pat Farmer.

Officers knew they'd hit him and paramedics rushed in, but they could not save the suspect and a standoff ended.

Action News talked to some of Maya's family members, including a woman who was with him at the motel.

They say he was a good man who once served in the army.

They called him a family man who had turned his life around over the last ten years and state records show he also owned his own business.

Both weapons turned out to be pellet guns, but police say they looked very realistic, especially from a distance.
read more here

How much louder do they have to scream? 

Korean War Veteran losing sight, borrowed SWAT glasses

Police grant vet's wish to use night-vision goggles before going blind
FOX News
Caroline Judelson
July 17, 2018

An 88-year-old Florida veteran recently called his local police department with an unusual request.

Pembroke Pines PD
88-year old Navy Veteran Stanley Gold, who is 75% blind, reached out to our officers and asked if he could try their night vision equipment before he lost his vision completely. Last night members of our PPPD SWAT met with Mr. Gold to make his dream a reality.

Stanley Gold, who served in the Navy, wanted to know if he could use the Pembroke Pines Police Department's night-vision goggles before he completely loses his sight, Fox 13 reported.
read more here

SWAT standoff with veteran in crisis

Friends say man shot in Beaverton officer-involved shooting is a veteran
KPTV News
By Bonnie Silkman
Updated: Apr 26, 2018

BEAVERTON, OR (KPTV)
Beaverton police said they received multiple 911 calls at 11:00 Wednesday morning about a disturbance involving a gun. After they arrived, they found a man in crisis inside a truck near 148th and Farmington Road.

Officers said they communicated with the man, who was making suicidal statements through text message. After two and a half hours of negotiating, police said the man fired at officers.

Officers said police returned shots back resulting in the man being rushed to the hospital by ambulance. They did not have an update on his condition.

“They moved the SWAT trucks in, and that’s when all of a sudden it was quick fire,” said Erica, who watched the standoff unfold.

She captured the standoff on her cell phone and the video shows her ducking for cover when gunfire erupts. A baby’s cries and panic can be heard from her video.

Officers told FOX 12, before gunfire erupted, the man in crisis sat in a silver truck for hours.

“Boom, boom, boom. That’s what happened, pretty sad,” another witness said.

The standoff took place steps away from a Salvation Army Veterans and Family Center on Farmington Road, which offers veterans transitional housing.

Friends of the man who was shot said he’s a veteran who needs help.
read more here

SWAT and Police Standoff With Army Veteran

UPDATE: Not Army veteran but Navy SEAL

Police Wound Standoff Suspect Barricaded In Churchill Home
CBS News
By Amy Wadas
February 14, 2018


CHURCHILL (KDKA) — A man is in the hospital following a lengthy standoff and officer-involved shooting in Churchill Wednesday evening.

The incident began around 4:15 p.m. at a home in the 2200 block of Harmain Road.

The sound of gunfire was in the air as SWAT officers tried to get the 50-year-old man inside of the home to surrender.“He is a Navy SEAL war veteran. They said he had high-powered weapons in his home,: said neighbor Tami Warfield. read more here

Police, SWAT Team Surround Army Veteran’s Home In Churchill
CBS Pittsburg
February 14, 2018 at 6:32 pm

CHURCHILL (KDKA) — Police and the SWAT team have surrounded the home of an Army veteran in Churchill.

The incident began around 4:15 p.m. at a home in the 2200 block of Harmain Road.

Officials were reportedly called to the scene by neighbors who claim the man was fighting with his wife. He then refused to come out of the home.

There are numerous police agencies on the scene.

PennDOT was forced to shut down the Parkway East in both directions near the Greensburg Pike exit as a result of the standoff. The highway was closed from Wilkinsburg to Churchill, but has since reopened.

Traffic was expected to be backed up for a while as a result.
Stay with KDKA for the latest on this developing story.

PTSD Disabled Veteran Died After SWAT Standoff

Friend says Harris Co. deputy's accused shooter troubled by divorce and custody dispute
ABC 13 News
By Jessica Willey
Friday, February 02, 2018

Cobb was on the track team at the University of Houston. He was a triathlete and an Army veteran, having served in Afghanistan. "I know for sure he had PTSD. I know it. I feel like, that was a huge, plays a huge part in what happened," she said.

SPRING, Texas (KTRK) -- The man at the center of a deputy's shooting and SWAT standoff overnight was a disabled Army veteran who suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, according to friends.

Matthew Vincent Cobb, 35, was found dead from gunshot wounds early Thursday morning inside the house on Kiplands Way where he rented a room. That came after a Harris County Sheriff's deputy and a roommate had been shot.

Sources tell Eyewitness News Cobb had threatened his ex-wife with a gun at her house and then left. Deputies found him at his house and were mid-arrest when, investigators say, Cobb pulled a gun from his clothes and fired.

The deputies returned fire and retreated. Video from a neighbor's security camera shows one deputy stumbling out, having been shot in the arm.
read more here

Veterans Facing Off with Law Enforcement Almost Every Week

Veterans Who Were Not Counted
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 11, 2017

Since last Veterans Day, a shocking number of veterans have been involved with situations where their lives were on the line along with members of law enforcement. 

Unlike some of the national headline grabbing veterans, like Texas, these were happening in every state across the country.

These are some of the reports regarding veterans and law enforcement faced with something they should never have to endure. 

Remember, these men and women, on both sides, decided that they would risk their own lives for the sake of others. 

None of these losses should happened.

1 

December 2, 2016 

New Mexico Veteran with PTSD

2 

December 31, 2016 

Florida Air Force Veteran

3 

January 20, 2017 

Texas Iraq Veteran Survived and arrested.

4 

January 26, 2017 

Alabama Military Veteran

5 

February 12, 2017 

New Jersey Army Veteran

6 

February 25, 2107 

Active Duty Fort Hood Soldier

7 

February 25, 2017 

Florida Marine Veteran

8 

March 8, 2017 

Colorado Iraq Veteran 

9 

March 17, 2017 

Texas PTSD Veteran 

10 

April 4, 2017 

Kansas Iraq-Afghanistan Veteran

11 

April 8, 2017 

Texas Army Veteran

12 

April 20, 2017 

Washington Air Force Veteran

13 

May 16, 2017 

California Army Veteran

14 

May 24, 2017

Tennessee Elderly Veteran

15 

May 31, 2017 

Florida Veteran At Airport

16 

June 4, 2017 

Texas PTSD Veteran

17 

June 20, 2017 

Ohio Afghanistan Veteran

18

July 2017

Arkansas 

Veteran Survived, Now Advocate

19 

July 2, 2017 

Tennessee 

67 Year Old With PTSD, Survived

20 

July 7, 2017 

Georgia Disabled Veteran Lost VA Benefits

21
July 11, 2017
New York Fort Drum Soldier

22 

July 11, 2017 

Washington National Guardsman

23

July 18, 2017 

Virginia Navy Couple

24 

July 24, 2017 

Missouri Iraq Veteran

25 

July 28, 2017 

Arizona Afghanistan Veteran

26 

August 4, 2017 

Colorado Veteran

27 

August 8, 2017 

Kansas Iraq Veteran

28 

August 19, 2017 

Florida Veteran Shot Police, Survived
Police Officers did not

29 

August 20, 2017 

Nebraska Vietnam Veteran

30 

August 27, 2017 

Florida Female Army Veteran

31 

August 28, 2017 

Detroit Veteran

32

August 31, 2017 

Texas National Guard Veteran

33 

September 7, 2017 

Texas Iraq Veteran FBI and SWAT

34 

September 12, 2017 

Mississippi Army Veteran

35
September 22, 2017
California Homeless Veteran
(Suspected of beating veteran to death)

36 

September 24, 2017 

Arizona Army Veteran

37 

September 26, 2017 

California Navy Veteran

38 

September 29, 2017 

Chicago 60 Year Old Veteran

39 

October 1, 2017 

North Carolina Army Veteran

40 

October 8, 2017 

Oregon PTSD Veteran

41 

October 10, 2017 

Massachusetts Military Veteran

42 

October 17, 2017 

Florida Armed Veteran Survived

43 

October 24, 2017

Arkansas 

SWAT Team and Veteran Navy Seal

44 

November 1, 2017 

California Homeless Veteran

45 

November 3, 2017 

Indiana Army Veteran

46

November 4, 2017 

Florida Veteran Survived

47

November 4, 2017 

Indiana Afghanistan Veteran

48

November 4, 2017 

Nashville

Veteran Fired Shots Outside VA Hospital

49 

November 7, 2017 

New York Special Forces Veteran Survived

While these reports are probably close to the number of veterans facing law enforcement, it is a reasonable assumption to make that there are more. With 52 weeks in a year, it happens at least once a week but no one counted them.

They risked their lives. Then they faced what they should have never had to face alone. 

Isn't it bad enough we do not know how many veterans committed suicide, or attempted it since last Veterans Day? At least people are trying to count them. So who is accountable for these other veterans?

The best that comes out of many because of the "one"

One man decided to kill as many strangers as possible. 

Many more decided to risk their lives to save as many strangers as possible.

Thousands fled the hail of gunfire in Las Vegas. These people stayed to try to save lives.

Blyleven, who is the son of Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven, said he has no formal medical training but that he felt obligated to do whatever he could to save lives.

“I just felt like I had to,” said Blyleven, who estimated that he may have helped about 30 or 40 people get away from the gunfire. “I would hope that if me, or my family, was in a situation like that, that someone would come in and get me.”

During the gunfire, Mike McGarry, a 53-year-old financial adviser from Philadelphia, said he tried to shield his children.

“It was crazy — I laid on top of the kids. They’re 20. I’m 53. I lived a good life,” McGarry told Reuters. He said he had shoe prints on the back of his shirt from people who ran over him to get away.

A parade of police officers, firefighters and paramedics rushed to the scene of the shooting, where good Samaritans were seen in photos kneeling down, tending to victims.

One man told Fox News that he hid behind a table and, when it was all over, helped load several bodies into a truck.

Las Vegas shooting: At least 58 dead, 515 hurt in Mandalay Bay shooting

Jose Baggett, 31, of Las Vegas, said he and a friend were in the lobby of the Luxor hotel-casino -- directly north of the festival -- when people began to run, almost like in a stampede. He said people were crying and as he and his friend started walking away minutes later, they encountered police checkpoints where officers were carrying shotguns and assault rifles. 

"There were armored personnel vehicles, SWAT vehicles, ambulances, and at least a half-mile of police cars," Baggett said.

That is the place where we find hope. There are still far more good people in this country than bad. Sure we may think that members of law enforcement and first responders are just doing their jobs, but they decided to do those jobs for the sake of everyone else.

Are there some who do not deserve to wear the badge? Yes, but they are few among many. So why is it that we forget that?

Are there some bad people in this country? Yes, but why do we forget that there are far more good ones?

People carry an injured person at the music festival grounds after gunfire was heard.

This man was talking about his friend who had been shot. He also talked about how many people went to help strangers. 



Southern California resident Chris Roybal, 28, died after he was shot in the chest, ABC Chicago station WLS reported. Roybal was a Navy war veteran who served in Afghanistan.



Time and time again we have witnessed the worst that can be done, but we have also witnessed the best that comes out of many because of the one.

Female Veteran Lived to Help Others, Killed During SWAT Standoff

Police officers kill U.S. Army war veteran with mental health issues

Local 10 News
By Andrea Torres - Digital Reporter/Producer , Madeleine Wright - Reporter
August 27, 2017

SUNRISE, Fla. - Kristen Ambury was a U.S. Army explosive ordnance specialist and an emergency medical technician. The 28-year-old war veteran worked for the American Heart Association, and trained others to save lives as a critical care paramedic for the American Medical Response.

The Broward College and Broward Fire Academy graduate trained to save lives. She worked with Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue and also loved dogs. She died when The Sunrise Police Department could not help her Friday.

Broward Sheriffs' Office deputies said SWAT broke into her home to try to save her life. Sunrise police officers responded to the Water's Edge apartments because she was suicidal. Relatives said she appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and struggled with her mental health.

Broward Sheriffs' Office deputies said SWAT broke into her home to try to save her life. Sunrise police officers responded to the Water's Edge apartments because she was suicidal. Relatives said she appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and struggled with her mental health.
read more here

Navy Veteran Edward Merrick Laid to Rest by SWAT Team

Killeen: Navy veteran with no family laid to rest

KWTX 10 News

By Sam DeLeon
August 8, 2017

KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) Mildred Wilson was the caretaker for Edward Merrick, a Big Spring native and Navy veteran who died last week with no family to lay him to rest.

"People do care for those that have no family. I considered him part of my family and to know others will accept him that way as is wonderful, it really is," said Wilson

Today, Central Texas residents, local veterans and members of the Williamson County SWAT Team were at Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen to give Merrick a burial with military honors.

The officers stepped in as pallbearers for Merrick.

read more here

Manhunt for suspect extends from Colorado to Virginia

Manhunt for suspect extends from Colorado to Virginia 
NBC 9 News Colorado
KUSA
Jacob Rodriguez and Allison Sytte
August 4, 2017

Roberts is a MARSOC Marine - a highly trained branch of the Special Forces and is believed to be armed and dangerous, Dillon Police say. Roberts' family is working with authorities to try and resolve the situation.

The manhunt for a veteran suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder has extended from Colorado to Kansas and now Virginia over the past week.

William Roberts, 34, reportedly slammed into a Dillon Police car back on Tuesday after officers tried to arrest him at the Dillon Dam Brewery. A SWAT team entered the hotel room he was supposed to be staying in, but by the time they arrived, he'd already gone, police say.

Then, later that night, Roberts was pulled over for speeding in North Newton, Kansas - 557 miles from Dillon. When the officer that pulled him over learned he was wanted for hitting a police car, Roberts sped off, prompting a high-speed chase that spanned two counties. 

Even though his tires had been damaged by spike strips, he got away and is believed to have fled in a stolen truck all the way to Virginia.

Police in Botetourt County, Virginia, 1,700 miles from Dillon on the west side of the Appalachian mountains are currently conducting a manhunt for Roberts. 
read more here

SWAT Standoff in Texas With Veteran

SWAT called after man barricades himself inside home near Baytown 
KHOU
Staff 
April 08, 2017 

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - SWAT officers were called after a man barricaded himself inside a home near Baytown Saturday evening.

Harris County Sheriff's deputies on the scene Saturday evening. 

(Photo: Tim Wetzel, KHOU 11 News)

Officers responded to the home on Crossvine Avenue. Harris County Sheriff's deputies have blocked off nearby streets in the neighborhood. 

The man's girlfriend told authorities he locked himself in a bathroom and threatened to harm himself. The girlfriend said he was armed with a gun. 

The woman said he formerly served in the Army and suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

We have a crew at the scene and will update this story as more information becomes available. go here for updates

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