Williams wasn’t aggressive, Mader told HuffPost, which led him to believe the man was only a threat to himself and that he wasn’t looking to harm anyone else.
“Saying the words ‘Just shoot me’ sent up the red flag that he was just trying to harm himself and no one else. He’s not here to hurt anybody but himself. That’s what made me make my decision. He needed help,” Mader said.
Mader served as a Marine in Afghanistan before joining the police in Weirton, West Virginia.
In Officer Mader’s lawsuit against the city, Mader says Officer Kuzma, who killed Ronald Williams, sent him text messages where he called Mader a “coward” for not shooting Williams.
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