Ottawa, Kansas – No one disputes the fact that the teenager known as Joseph Jennings was suicidal. In fact, on August 21, he attempted an overdose, but was discovered by family.
A call went out to 911 and two responding officers were able to save his safe his life. Jennings was admitted to Ransom Memorial Hospital this past Thursday. On Saturday, he was released from the hospital, but was not in a good frame of mind as he was still intent on taking his own life.
Somehow or other, a call was made of officers that the teen was possibly armed and dangerous. A confrontation occurred on the Jennings family front lawn with the teenager facing six armed officers.
His grandmother plead to officers that Joseph was either unarmed or at worst had a concealed BB gun. She affirmed that he was not in a position to threaten anyone’s life. She also plead to her grandson to stand down lest officers get provoked to serious action. The boy’s father came out and motioned as if to try to subdue his son, but officers threatened to shoot him if he did not stop.
It was at that point the incident escalated and Joseph Jennings was shot dead by officers. He took 16 rounds. Among the shooters were the two officers who had rescued him only hours earlier. The Ottawa police force justified the actions by stating the officers followed standard procedures as they were trained to do at the police academy. It is hard to fathom that the force with which they responded is standard operating procedure.