LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A 107-year-old Arkansas man who died in a police standoff this weekend told officers months earlier that they would have to shoot him or throw him in jail before he went back home with his son-in-law, according to police reports obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.
Monroe Isadore made the comments during an argument in June when he said his daughter and son-in-law didn’t want him around, according to one of several police reports the AP obtained.
“Mr. Isadore stated we would have to shoot him or throw him jail before he went back home with” his son-in-law, one of the reports said. “Mr. Isadore stated he was a hundred and seven years old and GOD told him to do his will.”
Neither Isadore’s daughter nor son-in-law returned phone messages left Tuesday.
Isadore died on Saturday in Pine Bluff after he opened fire on police and authorities shot him.
Authorities have said they tried using a camera, negotiating tactics and gas before shooting Isadore. But that hasn’t answered questions from residents in Pine Bluff, a community of about 50,000 people some 45 miles southeast of Little Rock. Some are struggling to make sense of how a man that even some police officers knew was hard of hearing could die in such an explosive confrontation.
Police have said an officer involved in the weekend shooting has been placed on paid, administrative leave.
Authorities would not identify the officer, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing. Sgt. David DeFoor said he believed the officer placed on leave was the only one who fired at Isadore.
Meanwhile, the police reports obtained by AP on Tuesday shed light on some of the problems Isadore faced as he grew older.
A man broke into his home in 2008 and stole $9 and a gun — “an old Winchester .38,” according to another police report.
“Mr. Isadore said he recognized the suspect, but could not recall his name,” the report said.
Another report from 2008 dated less than a week later said a police officer recovered a car that had apparently been stolen from Isadore.
“Dispatch advised they made contact, but were unable to find out from Mister Monroe Isadore if it was stolen, due to his being hard of hearing,” the report said.
So, a police officer went to Isadore’s home to find out what happened.
“Mister Isadore did not know it had been stolen” until the officer told him, according to the report.
Things took a violent turn Saturday when police were called to a domestic disturbance at another house in Pine Bluff where Isadore was staying.
Laurie Barlow, 48, of Lonoke, told officers she had gone to the house where Isadore was living temporarily to help him move to a new home, according to a police report. She said Isadore had previously been excited about the move but that when she arrived Isadore barricaded himself in a room.
“Ms. Barlow stated his granddaughter finally got him to open the door and she went around to speak with Mr. Isadore, at that time she stated Mr. Isadore raised his arm and pointed a gun at her and stated ‘You better stop breaking in to my house,”’ the report said.
After police moved Barlow and the granddaughter across the street, Isadore fired at a door moments after police tried to contact him. A SWAT team, called out when negotiations failed, maneuvered a camera into the house to see how Isadore was armed, then stormed inside after deploying gas and a distraction device, the report said. When Isadore fired, the entry team fired back.
It’s not clear why authorities moved into the home when they did.
“I don’t know what was going at the scene that would make them go ahead and go in,” DeFoor said. “When shots are fired, it changes the whole idea of, ‘Let’s sit out here and wait.”’
Prosecutors are expected to review the case as early as this week.
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