Shannon shooting: Justified? yes; Avoidable? likely

A sketch produced by the attorney representing the Shannon family in a wrongful death suit indicating how lawmen gained dual access to where Ben Shannon was holed up seems to be in agreement with the AG's report. (Courtesy image)

Ben Shannon

Moments after Department of Corrections Probation/Parole Officer Jason Wirth squeezed off four rounds from his .40 caliber Glock semiautomatic handgun that would end the life of Benjamin Shannon, he told the officer what he’d threatened to shoot him with.

 “Cellphone,” a mortally wounded Shannon said, according to Wirth’s own recounting of that fateful day inside a tiny mobile home in Sak’s Trailer Park in Rochester.

Officers had to pry the flip phone from his clutched hand  even as a pool of blood billowed beneath his fallen body after being shot three times, in the back and chest.

Shannon, 34, a troubled man with a trouble past, died later that day at Maine Medical Center in Portland, but the circumstances of his death will now begin a life of their own, a life that will surely have ripple effects for years to come on Shannon’s family, friends and the lawmen who had a role in his final day on Earth.

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s report released on Wednesday found that deadly force used by officers was justified.

The question is, however, was it avoidable?

By reading the 20-page report in its entirety the answer would seem to be that it was justified, that in the narrow context of a man raising an object that could be a gun and pointing it at you is grounds for firing in self-defense.

However, it appears lawmen had many chances on the afternoon of March 10 to de-escalate the confrontation, and call for backups, negotiators, even a SWAT team, which could have better ensured the safety of Shannon, family members and others inside the residence and neighbors, whose own mobile homes are just a few yards away from a back bedroom at 28 Periwinkle Drive where Shannon was holed up.

According to wikianswers.com, the maximum effective range of a .40 caliber pistol is 50-75 yards, about half to three-quarters of a football field, which means the safety of many park residents would be jeopardized in any shootout.

 Given that fact, alone, and the fact that there was no plausible public threat presented by Shannon’s being holed up in his mother’s trailer, lawmen certainly had options after confirming with her that her son was, indeed, there.

Then, when they learned he was in the back of the trailer, why did no one ask Beverly Shannon if they though he might have a weapon. You would think that would be an important piece of information. Or if he had access to a weapon.

No such concerns are mentioned in the report.

Also, no one these days is far from their cellphone.

It is likely Probation and Parole officers would have his cellphone number. They could have tried to call Shannon to negotiate his safe surrender.

They also could have encouraged his mother to call down the hallway to her son to urge him to come out with his hands up. If and when he refused, they could have called in a SWAT team for formal negotiations and standoff protocols to take over.

In background conversations with lawmen various officers have told The Lebanon Voice that every situation is different and fluid, and it’s difficult to assign a proper response to every stimuli in an arrest situation that might unfold.

However, this was not a fluid situation. It was a static situation, meaning no movement, no hostage, no imminent threat, not even the indication that Shannon had a gun.

All this information was available before the three lawmen began that fateful walk down a narrow hallway toward the room where Shannon would be fatally shot.

It should be noted that the four were there originally to check on the whereabouts of Benjamin’s brother, Wayne Shannon Jr., a parolee, but had also learned that a warrant for Benjamin Shannon’s arrest had been filed earlier in the day for bail violations in connection with his arrest in the armed robbery of a Rochester convenience store.

Now, let’s move down the hall with veteran Strafford County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Hester and Probation/Parole Officers Ian Stringer, who was the PPO in charge; and Benjamin Dinsmore, a recent hiree who accompanied the other three to gain additional training and experience.

Hester calls in Probation/Parole Officer Wirth, who had been guarding a back door to the trailer in the event Ben Shannon tried to flee, to cover him, but Wirth takes up a front position somewhere in the mobile home’s bathroom and opens a back bathroom door that provides access to the bedroom where Shannon is holed up.

The door won’t open all the way due to furnishings and belongings on the floor, but Wirth can see Shannon standing behind the door that enters into the hallway where Stringer is beginning to open the door.

Then what happens next seems in large part to be corroborated by all four lawmen in the AG’s report.

First, Wirth, who teaches use of force and is a certified firearms instructor, yells at Shannon to show his hands whereupon Shannon yells words to the effect, “I’ve got a gun, you’ll have to kill me.”

Stringer, who is standing next to the bedroom door in the hallway and is closest to Shannon, hears him say, “Please kill me, I have a gun.”

Then, there is a lapse of several seconds, during which time Hester transitions from his Taser to his semiautomatic handgun and moves from the bathroom where Wirth is blocking his view to the bedroom, and moves to assist Stringer and Dinsmore behind the hallway door.

According to the report, when they had tried to open it, Shannon moved behind the door, which blocked the view of Wirth, who then told Stringer to close the door.

Sometime in the next seconds, again Shannon says words to the effect, “I have a gun, I’m going to shoot you” followed by Wirth’s commands to stop raising his hands, which Wirth can see have some type of dark object in one of them.

An excerpt of the report based on Wirth’s interview with investigators recounts the moments just prior to when gunfire erupted:

PPO Wirth was aware that PPO Stringer was at the hallway bedroom door and believed PPO Densmore was a bit further back. PPO Wirth was unclear which officer began to open the main bedroom door, but believed it was likely PPO Stringer. When PPO Stringer opened the door, the door began to block PPO Wirth’s view of Shannon until he could no longer see Shannon. PPO Wirth was familiar with Shannon’s history of fighting, and having then lost sight of him, PPO Wirth yelled twice, “Shut the door! Get out!”

Once the door was closed, PPO Wirth could see Shannon again. Shannon said, “I have a gun,” and began reaching into his pocket. Shannon then said, “Shoot me, I’m going to kill you,” as his hands started coming up. PPO Wirth could see Shannon was holding something in one of his hands as they came up toward PPO Wirth. PPO Wirth could not tell if the object in Shannon’s hand was pointed outwards or inwards. PPO Wirth began yelling commands to Shannon. Shannon continued to raise his hands toward PPO Wirth. PPO Wirth saw Shannon holding what appeared to be a black object. Upon seeing Shannon point this black object directly at him, PPO Wirth fired his handgun.

There is no question that when Wirth saw the “object” being raised and pointed at him, he could have believed his life and the lives of others in the area were in mortal danger and that deadly force was appropriate.

However, the real question for lawmen and authorities to ask is, how much time elapsed between the first time Shannon said he had a gun and “you’ll have to shoot me” when Stringer first opened the door, and the final exchange between Shannon and Wirth moments later that ended with shots fired.

Moreover, what could’ve been done in those precious moments between the two separate verbal exchanges to have de-escalated the confrontation.

However much time elapsed, one thing is certain. It was enough time for all lawmen to remark upon it as an amount of time.

Hester was in the process of saying, “Let’s get out of here” as the shots were fired, he said in the report.

The AG’s report may be appropriate and just in its ruling that deadly force was justifiable, but whether lawmen acted appropriately in the events leading up to the shooting will likely be a subject of debate for a long time to come, including in a wrongful death suit filed by Shannon’s mother and brother.

The likelihood that Shannon provoked the shooting is very real. Suicide by cop is a very real phenomenon. The autopsy report showed Shannon had multiple cuts up and down one arm which appeared to be self-inflicted. Several of those cuts appeared to be deep and recently inflicted. Consistent with these cuts, a single trimmed razor blade was found in Shannon’s clothing.

The autopsy report concluded it was unclear whether the pattern of cuts indicated multiple incidents of specific suicidal ideation, or non-suicidal self-injury.

Also in the report it is alleged that Shannon seemed suicidal that day and had tried to commit suicide in the past.

Lastly, “cellphone” were not Shannon’s final words. According to the report, he said over and over again en route to the hospital, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” The report states he never clarified what he was apologizing for.