Jeffrey R Keith

Less-than-lethal force

Jeffrey R. Keith, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, shot and killed officer Terry Foster during an hour-long standoff, then was killed in an explosion. Keith's elderly parents had called police saying he was violent and needed to go to a hospital for evaluation. Foster knew Keith from earlier calls and talked to him through a locked door, police said. When officers forced the door open, Foster was shot four times. As other officers pulled Foster downstairs, the house erupted into flames after about 15 oxygen tanks Keith's ailing father kept in a closet exploded. Officials weren't sure what had triggered the explosion. Uncertain as to whether all the tanks had exploded, firefighters did not enter the house. Hours later, police found Keith's body in the garage.