Craig Steiner

Deadly force

A friend of Steiner's wife called 911 to report Steiner said he had killed his wife, but then the friend received a text message from the wife's phone, stating she was not dead. Officers found Steiner's wife and daughter standing in their driveway; the wife said Steiner claimed to have killed her "so that the police would come over and shoot him," noting that he was dealing with medical issues. Officers said Steiner came out of the house holding what appeared to be a rifle and pointed it at them when Officer William J. Sweetwood shot him. The gun was actually a pellet gun; Steiner's wife said she told the officers that Steiner's gun wasn't real.