Isaac Sims killed in “gun fight” with police
Devil In Baggy Pants sends us a link from Time about his friend, Isaac Sims, an 82d Airborne Division vet of the Iraq War. It looks like he was gunned down by police in Kansas City.
Tortured by symptoms of PTSD, turned away by an overbooked Veterans Administration hospital—his mother says she pleaded with doctors to let him sleep on the hospital floor—Sims was shot by Kansas City police on Sunday after they answered a neighbor’s 911 call. Police say Sims was firing a gun from inside his parents’ home and was killed when he moved to the garage and leveled the weapon at the SWAT team.
Family members don’t believe that the 23-year-old veteran was a threat to police. “With his sniper training, if he was shooting at them he would’ve hit them,” his sister Shawnda Anderson told TIME. But everyone could agree that the root cause of the confrontation was that Staff Sergeant Sims was falling to pieces, and felt like he had nowhere to turn.
It sounds to me that it more of “suicide by cops” situation, especially since none of the police were injured and folks who are victims of PTS are a bigger danger to themselves than they are to others.
In April, after pleading guilty to two counts of domestic violence, Sims came under the supervision of Municipal Court Presiding Judge Ardie Bland. Widely admired for his work with troubled veterans, Bland placed Sims on probation through a program jointly run by the court and the V.A. Launched in 2009, the Veterans’ Treatment Court tries to restore veterans to “law abiding, productive lives within the country they have defended,” according to municipal court spokesperson Benita Jones. The probation was to include intensive treatment, random drug testing, and frequent reviews.
[…]
Instead, the intensive treatment envisioned by the special court failed to materialize in time.
Category: We Remember
One thing that jumped out at me from the news reports is that he was so desperate to be seen he asked permisson to sleep on the floor of the waiting room.
I hope an pray his demons have been quieted now and may he Rest in Peace!!
Obviously he was deeply troubled and for the life of me I cannot understand how he was not admitted under another program or even right in as a danger to himself and others.
Many of you know I work for the VA. I also as a Veteran have had to seek out treatment. There was an incident that happened recently that caused me to seek out care in the Emergency Rooom, and the staff seriously were letting me know that if I needed a break and wanted to stay overnight they would take me in.
Is their facility that overcrowded that they did not have a freaking bed for this man???
I am not sure what type of facilities they have, but surely even if they did not have the proper facilities to care for him they could have sent him to one that did! We freaking do it all the time, bring in patients from out of state even.
Rest in Peace Brother!! You will not be forgotten. Airborne! All the Way!
The word needs to get out to Vets that if there is an emergency they should go to the nearest civilian hospital if the VA cant take them right away.
An illegal alien who is having a mental issue can get help without being turned away, why do we try to make veterans wait until its convienient for the VA to see them?
Precisely. Perhaps our greatest national shame is that our veterans are getting substandard medical treatment while criminals are given the best for their gang war injuries.
Disgusting is not even close to describing my feelings on the subject.
Listened to the hearing last night. It was refreshing to hear nearly unanimous disgust from members of Congress. Even Jackson-Lee was singing the same tune.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say, a portion of that disgust is “oh, I have to be outraged because this is a time to be outraged and when I’m up for reelection, I can say I was outraged.”
Politics = Poly meaning many, Tic meaning blood sucking insect.
Of those democrats who’ve jumped on the bandwagon, I’d like to know what their voting record has been on veteran issues. Its no surprise they’re using this issue as a springboard to give them some popularity for the upcoming elections.
Don’t forget that the government is rushing to provide food, clothing,housing, and medical assistance to all the illegals that are now streaming across the border
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/28/us-usa-immigration-children-idUSKBN0E814T20140528
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/28/children-swarming-southern-border-prove-a-test-oba/
Yet our own men and women who served this country can’t get the help they need and earned.
Very true, OT. Very sad and disgusting beyond words.
Thanks for comparing our service members to street thugs who kill each other over 5 bucks.
Now go fuck yourself with a frozen catfish sideways.
assclown
This just strikes a nerve with me!
When WE return home from a WAR it’s really just the beginning! This is when WE need the most help! WE should NEVER be turned away!! Never be put on a waiting list !!! We shouldn’t have to fill out b.s. paper work or claims!! All thi should be done (happily) for US! If this young Paratrooper had gotten the help he so desperately needed maybe he would still be here now!!!!
I’m sick of this bullshit!!
I agree, Jonn, it appears to be suicide by cop.
Damn shame.
RIP Troop.
I agree with Jonn’s conclusion. I am sad for this young man. I hope he is in peace now and I pray God’s blessings for his family.
To add, the VA could have done better in his case I believe.
Can the sniper comment be verified? Vets have been known to stretch the truth with family. Forgive me but this web site is full of phonies.
With regard to the VA – shame, shame, shame. BZ
Us Devils might not go to “Sniper School” very often. Although when we see the locals digging holes in he road, we do manage to shoot them in the face with an M14(which every squad carries), on a regular basis….so i guess it depends what your definition of a “sniper” is.
Aren’t those drop-in centers that were set up for Vietnam vets with what is now PTSD still available?
If not, why not? He could have gone to one of those and gotten someone to listen to him.
And there IS a hotline for returning vets advertised on TV several times an hour.
What happened, that no one pointed this young man in the right direction?
Oh, yes, I DO blame Shitsucker for this. He needs to be kicked to the curb.
In trying to help a mother obtain professional help for her discharged vet son who was having problems but would not admit it or agree to get help, I encountered the VA clusterfuck these kids have to tolerate. You call and don’t get to speak to a live person – even on the help line. They do not freakin call back within days. I worked every phone number at the Shreveport, VA hospital without success. Then I went on-line and a day later an external vet’s help group organization called me and we were able to hook up the mother. If the f’in brick wall freaked me out, it has to be significantly worse for a stressed out kid with problems. THIS IS NOT HOW OUR COUNTRY SHOULD BE TAKING CARE OF OUR WARRIORS AND IT IS PAST TIME FOR THE CONGRESS TO GET THEIR STUFF TOEGTHER AND FIX THE PROBLEM. OTHERWISE, VOTE THE BASTARDS OUT OF OFFICE IN NOVEMBER REGARDLESS OF THEIR POLITICAL PARTY.
I hate the “PTSD” label as I think the entire diagnosis is bull shit, but some people have a harder time dealing with their demons then others. This guy had issues he needed help with, and was failed by the system that is supposed to assist with those issues. I have to agree that this sounds like suicide by cop, but it is sickening that it ever got to this point
Where were his battle buddies? We make much of the fact that the battle does not end when we leave the field, and those same battle buddies (Or whatever you want to call them)who stood beside you there shoudl be with you when you take the uniform off. We know the VA is having a hard time taking care of us, so we must do it ourselves…c’mon people, we all know someone who is hurting because of what they did or experienced, reach out and take their hand…
I was SGT Sims’ Squad Leader during our last deployment to Iraq with 2nd BN 504TH Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was an outstanding Soldier and was very dependable at all times. My regards to his family during these troubled and confusing times. RIP SGT Sims!
I am a friend of his sister. I hope that he is now at peace and I am sending prayers to his family. This never should have happened.
Listen you fucking shitbag, go peddle that lefty bullshit on DU or Puffington. Don’t come trolling here and don’t be surprised when the rest of us here call you out on your stupidity. Worthless piece of commie shit.
Look what crawled in the back door.
You show up 3 weeks later to spew more of your bullshit, and think someone else is mad?
Hey “Logic”, what’s the matter, little glitter-farting Rudy-poo toad snot Sparkle Pony, did your Mommy kick you out of her basement after she caught you sniffing glue and having sex with your teddy bear again right after you were turned down behind the dumpster when you offered a blowjob to a wino for a swig of his MD 20/20?
Lowlife
Obese
Gay
Insecure
Cocksucker
Sounds about right to me!!
Troll cleanup Aisle three.