Police1 Staff Report
(ANKENY, Iowa) -- After the third 911 call to the same residence on Nov. 24, a police officer shot and killed a man who refused commands to drop the knife he was holding.
John Douglas Maher, 39, died at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines after he was shot once by police, according to the Des Moines Register.
The two officers at the scene, whose names have not been released, have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the routine internal investigation.
Chief Paul Scranton told the Register that Maher was suicidal and had threatened to hurt his wife and child.
When officers arrived to the residence at 729 N.E. 10th St. at about 4 a.m., Maher appeared upset and was holding a kitchen knife, police said. Scranton told the Register that Maher refused to drop the knife and threatened the officers with it.
Diane Maher and their 11-year-old son, Christian, who were inside the house when the shooting happened, were treated for minor knife wounds.
Officers had responded to two previous 911 calls to that residence that night and talked to Maher, but found nothing wrong.
“We feel comfortable saying this was justified,” Scranton told the Register. “This is not what we’re in the business to do.”