When Police Kill and Call It "Help"

by Will Grigg
Mar. 03, 2014

Susan Stuckey, an emotionally troubled 47-year-old resident of Prairie Village, Kansas, didn’t want to go to the mental hospital. When police materialized on her doorstep at dawn on March 31, 2010, they told her they wanted to perform a “welfare check.” They were lying, and Susan knew it: The police captain in charge of the operation later admitted that their intent was to take her to the hospital involuntarily.

The police weren't investigating a crime. They were carrying out a much more dangerous function: They were there to "help" Stuckey, and her desires were irrelevant to them. While the police negotiator was on the phone telling Stuckey “We’re here to help you,” snipers were setting up on nearby rooftops. Eventually two police officers broke into her home and shot her, claiming they were in fear for their lives because the frantic woman was “armed” with a broom.

The police claimed the troubled woman committed “suicide by cop.” Her bereaved mother correctly pointed out that the police should have prevented the fatal outcome, and had the means to do so. Now city tax victims have been compelled to underwrite a $560,000 settlement with Stuckey’s family.

Never forget: Unless you’re willing to see someone get killed, don’t call the police.












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