STORM2K

(AP) - Virginia Beach police shot and killed a man they say pulled a gun when he was approached by officers and refused to obey their orders to drop it, authories said Tuesday.

An officer spotted 21-year old Shane Michael Lester sitting alone in a pickup truck parked near the closed Lynnhaven North Shopping Center on South Lynnhaven Road and Braves Trail at about 11:30 p.m. Monday, police spokesman Mike Carey said.

Lester, of the 1600 block of Sword Dancer Drive, refused to give the officer his identification, and the officer noticed drug paraphernalia in the front seat, Carey said.

The officer then opened the driver's door because "it appeared as though the driver was fidgeting around and doing something in the vehicle, perhaps getting ready in an effort to drive away," Carey said.

A second officer arrived, opened the truck's passenger door and saw a handgun in the Lester's hand, Carey said. The first officer tried to disarm the man, they struggled and the officer backed away, he said.

Lester waved the gun around inside the truck, ignoring the officers' repeated orders to drop the weapon, Carey said. The second officer shot him several times, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene at about 11:50 p.m, Carey said.

The officers were not hurt. They have been placed on administrative duty while the police department's homicide squad, the department's professional standards office and the Virginia Beach commonwealth's attorney investigate.

Carey said police did not plan to release the officers' names until at least Wednesday. "They need time to come to terms with what has occurred," he said.

Very sad indeed...all he had to do was drop the gun. It probably all happened so fast............................

Once a suspect displays a firearm, all bets are off. He/she may be summoned ONCE..perhaps twice...to drop or surrender the weapon, but no "badge" I've ever known will wait until someone's dead.

Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

They did the right thing IMHO. Safety first.

There's a possibility that the suspect in question may have wanted to die ... it's commonly known as "suicide by cop" ...

Perhaps someone in the law enforcement field can elaborate more this and see if I'm on to something or if I'm a little off base with my assumption here (and maybe the suspect was just too high to comprehend sane judgment in this case).

You don't joke around with Law Enforcement regarding these matters...
or most matters really. They always assume the worst. Then act on it.
They don't ask if you're kidding...

Way back when, in the St. Louis Police Academy, we had an interactive push-button signal against a movie called "Shoot-Don't Shoot".

If the "officer" (we cadets as trainees) failed to correctly assess a situation by pressing the button, his screen would go "blank"...showing that he'd been shot or killed. Some of the scenarios were tough...a man sitting on a lakeside with a shotgun to his chin (in which case, he shot the officer behind him over his shoulder, then turned the gun on himself)...BLANK...a little boy in a ghetto lot that turned and had a small gun for a micro-second...BLANK...a wanted man in a bar, waving his hands frantically while the woman BEHIND him fired from under his arm...BLANK...you get the idea. This was in the early 70's, folks...but the rule still applies today.

No, policemen and women take NO chances with an armed suspect...they can't afford to do so.

It's not really that hard to drop a gun, it really isn't.

I don't blame the police one bit! They have every right to protect themselves in the case of an armed suspect.