The Johnson City Press
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (AP) -- The wife of a man shot by police after he refused to put down his shotgun said her husband was a deaf veteran who suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and wasn’t a danger to anyone.
A Carter County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Michael David Hoss, 55, late Monday outside his house. Witnesses said officers told Hoss to drop the gun, but he turned around quickly with the gun in his hands, causing the officers to fire.
“He was deaf. He couldn’t hear them. He had been drinking, and he was having flashbacks to his Vietnam days,” Teresa Hoss said.
“I was trying to tell the police that he was deaf and he was not dangerous, but they shoved me and my daughter into a police car.”
Authorities haven’t released the name of the deputy who fired the fatal shot. An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
Hoss fought in Vietnam with the Army and went deaf after a rocket exploded near him. He also contracted hepatitis C, which is incurable, and battled alcoholism, his wife said.
She said Hoss was taking Interferon, a drug to treat his liver disease, and that it can make people have suicidal thoughts when mixed with alcohol.
Hoss had several mixed drinks Monday before going to bed. He got up, and Teresa Hoss found him stumbling and staggering around, she said.
“I asked him what was the matter, and it was like he was not there. When he drinks liquor he starts thinking about being in Vietnam,” she said.
Hoss took his shotgun outside and fired a shot in the air. Teresa Hoss then called police.
“I told them I needed someone out here because he was threatening to kill himself. I told them he was not going to hurt us,” she said.