Gastonia Police Kill Army Veteran In His Own Home

The Home Of James Allen and his photo inset.

One of those stories you hate to hear, and Cedar Posts has been reluctant to comment on.

But a little advice, don't call the PoPo to check on your family members.

Get off your lazy ass the drive to the home yourself.

Don't call the police when your son is acting up or drunk or angry. Don't call the police for people who are bat shit crazy, are mental cases or just generally "not right" because the police are not going to put up with their shit, and they will in a lot of cases end up killing your family member.

And so it goes that an Army veteran from Gastonia, N.C., was shot and killed an officer who had been sent to check on him late Saturday.

According to the Charlotte Observer:

James Allen, 74, reportedly confronted the officers who entered his home with a gun, prompting the shooting.

Gastonia officers were sent to Allen’s home at 10 p.m. on Saturday after a relative could not reach him. The relative was worried about his condition because Allen had recently had heart surgery, Police Chief Robert Helton confirmed in a press conference on Sunday.

An officer responding to the request received no answer at the door around 10:20 p.m., so he left.

Authorities then requested a check of local hospitals around 11 p.m., but there was still no sign of the elderly vet.

At around 11:30 p.m., with assistance from the Gastonia Fire Department and Gastonia Emergency Medical Services, the officers went back to check Allen’s house. “A decision was made to enter the house, concerned that he may be inside in need of emergency assistance,” Helton said, according to the Observer.

The Fire Department helped Officer Josh Lefevers enter through the house’s back door. Lefevers reportedly announced his presence, Helton said. Upon entering, officers met Allen, who was reportedly holding a handgun pointed at the officers. “He was challenged to lower the gun down,” Helton said. “The gun was pointed in the direction of the officers, and a shot was fired that fatally wounded him.”

Lefevers, a two-year veteran with the Gastonia Police Department, has been placed on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has also been investigating the shooting.

“Maybe the police was frightened, maybe they were. I don’t know, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Mary Battle, Allen’s sister, told WSOC TV.

“I am so hurt that he had to die like this.” “[He] probably woke up, ‘Someone’s breaking in on me,’ so then you’re by yourself, you try to protect yourself,” Allen’s brother-in-law Robert Battle added.

Cedar's Take: I don't blame Allen for this any more than I blame Officer Lefevers. If you are Allen you are on pain meds, just trying to sleep through the pain of surgery. You don't answer the phone, don't answer the door. But finally when someone breaks down the door you grab your gun and confront whoever is breaking into your house.

From Officer Lefevers stand point you are just trying to do the right thing. And with a split second decision it all goes to shit.

As Clint Eastwood's Bill Munny says in Unforgiven:

 It's a hell of a thing, killin' a man. Take away all he's got, and all he's ever gonna have.

And to make matters worse Josh Lefevers is the father of the four year old boy who died after coming to the e-coli bacteria while visiting the petting zoo at the Cleveland County Fair in 2012.