In Interview, EMS Chief Recounts Police Shooting of Terrence Coleman

BOSTON, MA — An interview in this morning's Boston Globe corroborates police officers' accounts that emergency responders feared for their lives in the run-up to the police shooting of a mentally ill man last weekend.

Boston's emergency medical services chief told the paper in a lengthy interview that 31-year-old Terrence Coleman pulled out a "large steak knife" and threatened the EMTs who had come to take him to the hospital.

"I can’t believe I’m going to die like this," one of them reportedly told him in the aftermath, according to the Boston Globe interview.

Officers Shoot, Kill 'Emotionally Disturbed' Man Wielding Knife in South End: Police

The EMTs reportedly struggled with Coleman, with one of them at one point falling down the stairs. One EMT injured his back and ribs in the scuffle, and the other hurt his neck and head, according to the EMS chief; neither was hurt by the knife.

They fled the building after officers arrived, and did not witness the fatal shots, according to the account. The EMS chief told the paper the EMTs went back inside to tend to Coleman's wounds and try to get him an ambulance.

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The EMTs and two officers were called to the Shawmut Avenue apartment by Coleman's mother because he was exhibiting what the police call described as "emotionally disturbed" behavior, and experiencing what the police report would later identify as paranoia and schizophrenia.

His mother, Hope Coleman, previously told the paper her son was not armed, later amending her statement to say he had a juice bottle.

Coleman's shooting has come under scrutiny from numerous community stakeholders, including disability rights advocates and civil rights groups.

It strikes a nerve with mental health and disability rights groups who cite the steeply higher numbers of individuals with mental illness killed by police. It also speaks to ongoing, national concerns over police use of deadly force.

The Suffolk County District Attorney's office is investigating the incident. However, at least one civil rights group is advocating that a third party conduct its own review.

Photo by christopdesoto, Flickr/Creative Commons