By Josh Stockinger
Chicago Daily Herald
NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Naperville police were justified in shooting and killing a troubled man who lunged at them with a knife, the victim’s brother said Tuesday.
“They had to do what they had to do,” Joseph Ladew of Naperville said. “I understand it.”
Two officers — one of whom was involved in a fatal suspect shooting nine years ago — shot 47-year-old William Ladew several times after responding to a report of a suicidal man shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday at an apartment on the 1100 block of West Ogden Avenue, Deputy Police Chief Gary Bolt said.
The officers were invited into the apartment by a woman, Bolt said. Once inside, Ladew rushed at them from a back bedroom with a large knife and was shot when he refused to drop the weapon.
“The officers felt they were in danger and believed their lives were threatened,” Bolt said. “They used the force they believed was appropriate — and I believe it was appropriate, too, given the situation.”
According to police, the shooting happened at a second-floor apartment where Ladew was visiting a friend.
Joseph Ladew said his brother had already slashed his wrists by the time officers arrived. He said he knew the shooting was justified because his brother’s friend corroborated the details given by police.
“He was just depressed, and it happened that quick. Nobody knows why,” Joseph Ladew said. “Obviously, you have to be depressed if you want to kill yourself. I’m not happy about it, but it was justified.”
Police said both a sergeant and patrol officer involved in the shooting were placed on paid administrative leave, while the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office coordinates and assists in an investigation.
The sergeant is a 19-year veteran of the department, and the officer has served for 10 years. Officials confirmed the sergeant, Steven Schindlbeck, also shot and killed a man who opened fire on police Jan. 23, 2002, in Naperville, after the shooting victim threatened his own family with a knife.
After an investigation, the earlier shooting was found to be a justified use of deadly force.
Copyright 2011 Paddock Publications, Inc.