
Deadly force
Police were dispatched on a report of a suicidal person. Edward Rader had taken a gun from his grandfather and gone into a nearby alleyway. Family said Rader wanted police to kill him because he couldn't do it himself. When police arrived, Rader's grandfather tried taking the gun away from his grandson, but Rader pulled away, and police said he pointed his gun at them. Officers Justin Reese, Douglas Simmons and James Gray opened fire. Rader's wife said Rader did not point the gun at officers, but rather pointed the gun in the air and fired a shot. A week before, Rader had attempted suicide by drug overdose.
This record exists so that Edward Rader, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.
More lives from the archive.



