The family of a mentally ill man in the throes of an "episode" called 911 seeking medication for the young man. Police in northern California responded with excessive force, killing the 25-year old amid at least 10 gunshots, the family and neighbors say.

Desmond Phillips, 25, a Sacramento native, was killed by police officers with the Chico (California) Police Department on March 17. The officers forced their way into the apartment of Desmond's father, David, believing Desmond posed a threat to family members, according to reports.

As he had done twice in the past, David Phillips Sr., Desmond's father, contacted local paramedics to help his son access medication, the family said, as Desmond has a mental disorder and was acting erratically, local news outlets have reported.

"My dad called the ambulance to come take him to the hospital so they could get him some medication," David Phillips Jr., Desmond's brother, told KTXL, adding that the encounter "should've been handled way different. They didn't have to pull out their guns."

The Chico Police Department said Desmond was "hostile" to first responders with the Chico Fire Department who initially responded to the scene, at Desmond's father's home. Police officers were then dispatched to the home. They reported that Desmond was "pacing in a small living room area and was seen holding two knives," Chico police Chief Michael O'Brien said, according to KTXL. David Phillips Jr. said Desmond was holding a butter knife and a smaller knife used to cut vegetables, according to KRCR.

Desmond's father and two grandchildren, ages 18 and 12, were reportedly locked inside one or multiple bedrooms in the home, according to KRCR. Police said Desmond was trying to break into a room, and that officers acted to protect the family members. Desmond was also attempting to keep officers out of the home by shutting the front door on them, KTXL reported. Police eventually forced their way into the apartment, KRCR reported.

One officer first tased Desmond, according to O'Brien. "Before a second taser deployment could occur, the subject jumped to his feet and started to slash at the officers," he said. These alleged "slashes" prompted the officers to open fire. Desmond's father said the incident escalated quickly.

"Tase, this cop 'boom, boom, boom, boom, boom! And I said, 'what the hell are you doing?! You just killed my son!" David Phillips Sr. said, according to KRCR. Witnesses said they heard at least 10 rounds fired; two bullets entered into a neighbor's apartment, KRCR reported.

Desmond's brother said Desmond was not a threat to anyone, including his family members. "He was not a threat to my dad or my nephews at all, I don't know why the hell the police would say that but, no," David Phillips Jr. said, according to KTXL. He added: The officers "obviously seen that he's not in his right mind."

The officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave while the Butte County District Attorney investigates the killing, KRCR reported.

The family, meanwhile, is furious. "You don't put 10-12 bullets in somebody because they have a mental disability, you're supposed to help them," David Sr. told KRCR. "That's what I called them for, to help him. Not to kill him. I didn't call y'all here to kill my son!"

The family has contacted the NAACP for assistance. They have also set up a GoFundMe page to pay for Desmond's funeral expenses. "He's got a gunshot hole in his face this big, they murdered him," Desmond's father said, according to KRCR.

"He doesn't have any criminal record, you don't have anything on him! He was mental, man and that means you guys should have had extra care," David Phillips Sr. said of his son and the officers who responded to the scene.

Neighbors agreed the police response was excessive. "Definitely seems like an excessive amount of police force was used," neighbor Nick Bragg told KRCR. "I definitely think they could have resolved this issue without having to kill this individual."

Andrew Perlinger, another neighbor, told KRCR he was grateful he was not home at the time, as it was his apartment in which two of the bullets entered.

The family held a vigil for Desmond Sunday evening, according to KRCR.

http://www.rt.com/usa/381505-chico-police-desmond-phillips/

We expect police and other responents to act with intention.
Life is not like in the movies.
A gunshot to the leg is usually enough to subdue.
When the attacker came at the police with a weapon
it became a self-protection reflex.
The fact that the tasing had no affect,
made the officers think the threat was
above the standard and insane people
do not use good judgement.

While I see a problem with this example
I can also understand the knee-jerk
reaction of the respondents.

Ten to twelve shots was over-kill and
can be contributed to the fact that
the police were reacting out of fear.

According to what was written,
I can understand both views.

There should be a seperate entity to respond to mental health calls, which is trained in mental illness and deescalation.


Police don't seem to have that training, they give orders , arrest people, or shoot people.

Remember the old movies when someone was crazy they were taken away in the paddy wagon by the white coats?
They were subdued, placed in restraints (straight-jacket) and thrown into a padded cell.

I'm not sure if that practice ever really existed but I suspect there is some basis in real world experiences.

The political correctness of tolerances prevent the paddy wagon and white coats in today's society. They have become the men and women in blue.

The blues deal with all sorts of civil unrest. They are trained to handle such scenarios but training and real life are different things and while some may react according to their training not all will.

The failure to Desmond Phillips was not the incident that resulted in his death but the inability of the doctor treating his condition to properly maintain the treatment. As evidenced by the fact that this occurrence was not the first time emergency help was needed.

Another failure is the fact that someone let an insane person go without his meds to the point he became hostile. The caregivers, in this case the family, did not act to prevent Mr Phillip's condition from worsening despite their experience in past incidents.

The respondents, in this case the police, were not familiar with the insanity of Mr Phillips. They reacted to the threat as an assault on their lives and fear created a lethal scenario. I highly doubt any of the police responded with an intent to kill the man. As evidenced by the initial attempt to subdue him by tasering.

The fact that two of the shots penetrated the neighbor's dwelling proves this was not an execution but a reaction. If anything, the police should be held accountable for endangering the lives of the neighbors that were threatened by the marksmanship. Again, proving the gunshots were a reaction not an intention.

The way understood it they father called for paramedics for his medicine, not for a police action... By I agree with Tom, uniform cops are not qualified to assess mental health issues, and someone that is qualified should have been sent....

I agree, the bush/Obama police state still exists...

The paramedics called for police action because the situation was beyond their ability.

so he was acting like a lunatic...came at the cops with knives and got shot...well no s#%t...what do u think is going to happen if u try to stab a cop? never bring a knife to a gun fight lol

You mean like " Nut Busters"?

Well, on the bright side, he won't be needing medication anymore.

Yea, 12 bullets solved that problem...

Sad story. He didn't have to die. If he was a danger, maybe he should have been put somewhere for every ones safety.

or maybe hide the knives....

you think?

It is a sad situation that happen...

But first Paramedics were called he got violent with them, they most likely called for back up which would be the Police. The guy was violent enough that a Taser did not even take him down...

This was not the first time that the family had called for help on the same situation..

Regardless how it was handled the situation got out of hand.. Sure it don't take that many shots to take a normal person down.. But this was not a normal situation... Kids in the house fearing for their lives what would you do if you was in the same situation???

I take it police doesn't get any hand to hand combat training anymore, since 3 to 6 200 lbs cops can't take down a 175 lb person ...supposed to be safety in numbers, but more safety in shooting..

I thought this was funny:


after this:


"He's not a threat to anyone!...Uh...we just happened to lock ourselves in our bedrooms at that time...for fun!"

Not sure about you but I'm not going to tackle anyone that has a knife and they are trying to cut you with it...

But yea makes one wonder with that many cops why they could not take him down... But again why take the chance of him killing you when you have a gun? And they did use the taser and it had no effect on him would that alone not want you to back up and use what force you had..

Due to I'm sure all the info is not stated what really happened it is hard to say why they took the actions they did..

But for them to say he was not a threat, I find that hard to believe since this had happen more then once in the past.. Why did the family not take more action after it happen in the past and get the boy the help he needed before it escalated to the extreme it did???

Can't put all the blame on the Police for the out come, if the family never felt threaten then they would have never called for help and kids would not have been locked up in another room that he was trying to break the door down on..

it's not our job to tackle people with knives, it's the polices... I'm not saying the cops are right or wrong, I'm saying the system is slowly turning into a shoot first, ask questions later police state... Shooting the man wasn't the only option, it was the easiest, fastest and safest way to end it... They didn't seem to care about the man's life at all... But I wasn't there, so I guess I don't really know...

I come from a military and cop family/friends. Someone comes at them with a weapon, after a taser won't bring them down, will get shot. I am sorry that man lost his life but getting him help is the family's responsibility. Those called in shouldn't have to be harmed for that. This man was unstable and out of control. The problem with shoot to injure vs shoot to kill is....the injured can still throw a knife, whatever and kill someonee.....not too mention the poor me law suits to pay someone for bad actions. The cops did what they had to. When someone has adrenaline pumping like crazy, they can withstand a lot. If someone came at me or my loved ones (regardless of training) I will use force. These cops put their lives out there and have loved ones too that they want to see again

Don't get me started on the profiling bs