24 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: JULY 2017 tor that Williams was threat- ening to hurt himself, and another officer wound up fatally shooting Williams, 21, within seconds of arriving at the scene. Mader filed a lawsuit against the City of Weirton saying that he was wrongfully terminated, that his constitu- tional rights were violated and that the city thereafter “engaged in a pattern of retaliation designed to destroy Mr. Mader’s reputation.” The suit is being handled by the ACLU of West Virginia and attorney Timothy P. O’Brien. “ T h e C i t y o f Weirton’s decision to fire officer Mader be- cause he chose not to shoot and kill a fellow citizen, when he be- lieved that he should not use such force, not only violates the Constitution, common sense and public policy, but incredibly punishes re- straint,” O’Brien said. “When given the tragic, and, far too frequent unneces- sary use of deadly force, such restraint should be praised not penalized. “To tell a police officer, when in doubt either shoot to kill, or get fired, is a choice that no police officer should ever have to make and is a message that is wrong and should never be sent.” Mader says shortly after the incident and the subsequent publicity, his employer tried to destroy his reputation through a series of press con- ferences, rumors and false- hoods about his performance during his 10 months on the job prior to the incident at the heart of the lawsuit. Mader’s a Marine Corp. veteran. He served two tours, one of them in Afghanistan. He was thrilled when he got home and became a cop in his hometown. But just 10 months into his career, Mader responded to the call that would get him fired. The woman who called 911 said that Ronald Williams was armed with a knife and threatening to kill himself. A second call from the woman said that Williams had gone to the car to get a gun, but that she knew the weapon was not loaded. Mader arrived at the scene and found a very emotional Ronald Williams who at this point had his hands behind his back. Mader ordered Williams to show his hands and when Williams did, he was holding a silver handgun. He didn’t point the weapon or appear aggressive – just despondent. Mader said all of his training, both military and police, indicated that Williams was more of a threat to himself than anyone else. Mader tried to talk the guy down. At some point it became clear that Williams was hoping that police would take his life for him – a suicide by cop. “Just shoot me,” the young man said repeatedly. “He wasn’t screaming, yelling, he wasn’t angry. He just seemed distraught. Whenever he told me to shoot him it was as if he was pleading with me,” Mader told reporters. “At first, I’m thinking, ‘Do I really need to shoot this guy?’” Mader was working on Williams verbally – trying to get him to give up the gun. That’s when Mader and Wil- liams both saw the police cruiser driving up the road. And that was precisely the moment that things went south, Mader says. The approaching officers got out of the vehicle and Mader started waving the unloaded weapon. Shots rang out and Wil- liams fell to the ground with a fatal head wound. Then the investigations started. A few weeks later Mader was fired. The officer says he was never interviewed or ques- tioned about what he did or failed to do and why. He no longer talks to any- one at his old job but has received lots of support from police officers around the country. He hopes to get another job in law enforcement but he knows he’s probably been blacklisted. As for what he’d do if he could go back and change things, Mader replied, “I wouldn’t change anything. Even after them saying that I failed to eliminate a threat and that it should have been handled differently, I still believe I did the right thing,” Mader told reporters. “And a lot of people think I did the right thing, too. So I know it’s not just me.” “To tell a law enforcement officer, when in doubt either shoot to kill or get fired, is a choice that no one who wears a badge should ever have to make and is a message that is wrong and should never be sent.” Continued from page one Suicide by cop successful Fired officer says he was cast off, maligned and blacklisted Former Officer Stephen Mader during his military service. Save the Date! ConferenceTopicsInclude: -Survivingandthrivinginacareerinlaw enforcement -Strategiestomanageexposuretotrauma -Preparingyouragencyforaline-of-dutydeath -Classesforlawenforcementspouses -StrategiestoavoidorworkthroughPTSD -Leadingahealthyagency -Police2f¿cerdeathanddisaEilityEene¿ts -Helpingyourfamilythroughyourcareer -Financialplanningforlawenforcement of¿cers -Settingupasuccessfulpeersupportprogram -Policechaplainprograms 3rd Annual C.O.P.S. National Conference on Law Enforcement Wellness & Trauma November 10-12, 2017 Grapevine, Texas Conference will be held at: Hilton DFW Lake Executive Conference Center 1800 Texas 26 Grapevine, TX 76051