Delaware State News

BRIDGEVILLE — Delaware State Police fatally shot an allegedly suicidal Seaford man outside his home Friday morning after he pointed a loaded shotgun at troopers, ending an eight-hour standoff.

Kenneth J. Miller III, 46, of Wesley Church Road, was shot once by a trooper with the state police’s Special Operations Response Team (SORT) at about 6 a.m. Lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful, state police Superintendent Col. Thomas F. MacLeish said during a press briefing at Troop 5 in Bridgeville.

"From the onset of this incident, he advised negotiators that he wanted troopers to take his life," Col. MacLeish said.

"He exited his home from time to time, sometimes armed with a shotgun, confronting the officers and taunting them. Troopers held their ground and continued to negotiate with Mr. Miller, attempting to defuse the situation and get him to surrender."

Col. MacLeish said the trooper, whose identity is being withheld for 24 hours, has been placed on administrative duty per divisional policy. The case remains under investigation.

Mr. Miller was the second person troopers have killed in the past 10 days after the person allegedly waved a weapon at police. On Sept. 16, a bank robbery suspect in Newark was fatally shot after he allegedly pointed a pellet pistol at state police.

And in June, state police killed a former California Highway Patrolman after a six-hour standoff in which the man fired on troopers outside his Milford home.

"This frankly never gets easier," Col. MacLeish said. "Because of the actions of this individual, a member of the Delaware State Police was put in the position where he had to utilize deadly force.

"Any outcome that results in the loss of life needs to be examined again. But unfortunately, we’re in the business and we take an oath to protect lives and property, and we can’t walk away from incidents."

Col. MacLeish said troopers responded to the 20000 block of Wesley Church Road north of Seaford at about 9:10 p.m. Thursday after a family member called 911 to report that a man at the house wanted to harm himself and had been drinking and also had taken pills.

Troopers arrived and found the man armed with a shotgun, so they sought cover and ordered him to surrender. The man instead went back into the house and barricaded himself, Col. MacLeish said. He was home alone.

State police established a perimeter and evacuated several neighbors, including the Matos family directly across the street.

"We got evacuated (Thursday) night around 10:30 p.m.," said Victor Matos, who along with his parents and younger brother quickly left the house and stayed at his grandparents’ place in Seaford.

They were allowed to return to their Wesley Church Road home Friday afternoon, still wearing the clothes they had worn the previous night.

"I was in my room and was about to watch some TV when I turned everything off because I heard a loud racket outside," Mr. Matos said.

"About 15-20 minutes later, a state trooper came to the door and said to gather as much as we needed and evacuate … They didn’t tell us all that (was going on) immediately. My father called Troop 5 and they told him there was someone trying to kill himself. That’s how we found out."

Mr. Matos said that although he didn’t know the full details until Friday, when he saw a trooper with "a long shotgun" outside the home, he knew it was a serious situation.

About 35 troopers — conflict resolution, SORT and patrol officers setting up the perimeter — were on the scene during the standoff, state police spokesman Sgt. Joshua A. Bushweller said.

Efforts to get Mr. Miller to disarm failed, despite nearly eight hours of continuous negotiations.

At about 6 a.m., Mr. Miller stopped communicating with troopers, Col. MacLeish said. Troopers attempted to regain contact by setting up a public address system.

"Once the system was in place, the officers began to move back to cover," Col. MacLeish said. "Mr. Miller then abruptly exited his house and aggressively pointed a shotgun at several state troopers.

"It was at this point, a trooper, who is a member of the Special Operations Response Team, who was providing cover for his fellow officers, feared for the lives and safety of his these officers, and fired a single round at the suspect, striking him.

"A trooper medic and Sussex County paramedics, who were on scene, immediately began lifesaving efforts on the suspect; however, he died as a result of the injury he sustained."

Col. MacLeish said the shotgun was fully loaded with a shell in the chamber, and Mr. Miller had several shotgun shells in his pockets and two hunting knives on him. Additional knives and weapons were found in the house.

Neighbor Mr. Matos said he did not know Mr. Miller, having only seen him cutting the grass on occasion.

"This is the kind of place where you think you can leave your car and house open," Mr. Matos said. "Now, you have to rethink everything."