Police Fatally Shoot Man Threatening Suicide After Girlfriend Calls Them For Help

A Florida woman says that she wanted help getting her boyfriend to a medical facility after he began threatening suicide after losing his job.

Therefore, she called the non-emergency police line, as she says she did not feel threatened by her boyfriend but was instead scared for his safety. The St. Johns County Sheriff then sent two officers to her home. However, instead of helping her get her boyfriend to the hospital for treatment, the officers shot the 28-year-old man, Justin Way, dead in his bed. Now his girlfriend and parents want answers as the man was only wielding a knife and was still lying in the bed when officers opened fire on him.

According to the Daily Beast, 28-year-old Justin Way was in his bed with a knife when his girlfriend phoned the non-emergency police line for help. Way was a recovering alcoholic who had recently lost his job. He was threatening to commit suicide and his girlfriend, Kaitlyn Christine Lyons, wanted to get him to a hospital for help. Lyons says at no point did she ever feel threatened by Justin, but rather was concerned about his safety when she phoned the none-emergency police operator. However, instead of getting help when officers arrived, her boyfriend was fatally shot.

Kaitlyn says that when she phoned the officers Justin was still laying in his bed with the knife. When officers 26-year-old Jonas Carballosa and 32-year-old Kyle Braig, arrived at the home, Kaitlyn says they were armed with assault rifles, and told her to wait outside. Moments later her boyfriend was shot dead while, according to his family, still laying in his bed.

The police report indicates that Justin attacked police officers with his knife; therefore, they were justified in using deadly force. However, Justin’s family and girlfriend do not believe the report. In fact, Kaitlyn noted that after the shooting, police brought Justin’s mattress to the curb and in for processing. She believes they did this because officers shot him while he was still in his bed. It was noted that there was a “hole” in the middle of the mattress, one Justin’s family believes is indicative of a bullet. Justin’s parents also note that there was no blood splatter across the room as you would expect if officers had shot Justin while approaching them. Instead, the blood was concentrated on the mattress and bed. They believe there is no blood splatter because the man was shot in his bed.

“If Justin was coming after them with a knife, at 6-foot-4, wouldn’t there be blood splattered all over the room?”

Despite the parents pleas, St. Johns County Sheriff’s Department Detective Mike Smith has been unable to tell them how many times their son was shot in the altercation. Now Kaitlyn and Justin’s family want answers.

As the Inquisitr previous reported, a controversial Facebook post by one of the officers is raising eyebrows. Jonas Carballosa, the second deputy involved in the Justin Way shooting, once posted the following quote: “Most people respect the badge. Everyone respects the gun.”

What do you think about the Justin Way case? Was it police officer assisted suicide like the department is claiming or was deadly force unwarranted?

[Image Credit: Facebook]