The emergency call from the home of a man later killed by Johnston County deputies provides context as to why they may have been unable to intervene to de-escalate the man’s mental health crisis.<\/b>
\nThe emergency call to 911 from a Garner woman is shedding new light on what happened the moments before Johnston County deputies shot and killed a man.
Anthony Richardson’s widow told WRAL Investigates that no one tried to de-escalate the situation that began days before when he started having a PTSD episode.
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Richardson was an Army veteran who his wife says deployed to war zones three times. She said he has had PTSD symptoms since she met him more than 20 years ago. But Sunday when one of his episodes turned violent, deputies called to help ended his life.
The 911 call that came late Sunday morning from Dorleen Richardson\u2019s Garner
home is frantic and at times, hard to understand.
Dispatcher: \u201cOK, what\u2019s going on?\u201d
(inaudible background)
Dispatcher: Hello? What\u2019s going on?
Richardson: \u201cYes\u2026 Who are you talking to?\u201d
But one thing is very clearly heard. A gunshot.
Dispatcher: \u201cMa\u2019am, can you tell me what\u2019s going on?\u201d
Richardson: \u201cI\u2019ll tell you\u2026\u201d (gunshot) \u201cHe just shot the gun.\u201d
Dispatcher: \u201cOK, who is it that has a gun?\u201d
Richardson: \u201cMy husband.\u201d
Dispatcher: \u201cOK, and what is he doing?\u201d
Richardson: \u201cI don\u2019t know. He\u2019s having an episode. I don\u2019t know. He\u2019s crazy.\u201d
Dispatcher: \u201cOK, where is he at now?\u201d
Richardson: \u201cIn the garage. Send somebody here please.\u201d
Within 10 minutes, Richardson said her street was lined with Johnston County sheriff\u2019s deputies who had their guns drawn. Deputies asked her to remotely open the garage door where her husband was barricaded inside, she said.
\u00ab\u00a0They said for him to put the gun down. And he said, ‘Y’all gonna make this easy for me today.’ I heard him so they already let me know that he was gonna want them to kill him, I guess because he was gonna try to kill himself\u00a0\u00bb, Richardson told WRAL Investigates.
Minutes after they arrived, Richardson said her husband was dead.
\u00ab\u00a0I’ve seen them do peaceful standoffs and people having things going on with them, and they walk out in handcuffs and go to mental hospitals. I’ve seen it done. I don’t know why this case was so different\u00a0\u00bb, she said.
We asked that question to former Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison, who has more than 40 years of policing experience and was not involved in the incident.
\u00ab\u00a0In the call, she says he’s acting crazy. And so you have an indication that there could be a mental health crisis going on. What changes when you hear that there’s a firearm involved, and then you hear the gun go off, from a tactical standpoint\u00a0\u00bb, we asked.
\u00ab\u00a0It would have made me be on high alert that we’ve got a problem, and we want to try to do everything we can to make sure we get away from there safe, and we make sure that people that they are safe as they can be. That’s our goal. Is to make sure we keep people safe\u00a0\u00bb, Harrison said.
Surrounded by holes left by bullets shot into her living room walls, Richardson wishes things ended differently.
\u00a0\u00bb I thought that they would arrest him and carry him to a mental hospital, because he needed to go to a mental hospital. He needed some help. I never thought in a million years that be calling them and then 10 minutes he’ll be dead\u00a0\u00bb, she said.
The SBI tells WRAL Investigates that Richardson’s autopsy is scheduled for this week and that will kickstart its investigation into the shooting. The Johnston County deputies involved are on administrative leave.
If you’re having suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis, call or text 988 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. Veterans can press \u201c1\u201d after dialing 988 to connect directly to the Veterans Crisis Lifeline. For texts, veterans should continue to text the Veterans Crisis Lifeline short code: 838255.<\/p>\n