Warren Deris

Deadly force

Warren Deris was shot and killed while holding his wife at knifepoint when he allegedly aimed an air pistol at approaching officers. At around 5:50 p.m., a neighbor called police saying that Deris' daughter had come over and said her father's "just gone crazy. He's got knives out of the drawers. She's afraid." The dispatcher stated over the police radio that Deris was holding his wife inside the residence. Deputy Christopher Cade was the first on the scene, and he was soon joined by deputies Shane Rivolo and Christopher Bassil. Cade and Deris' daughter went to the side door under the carport; Rivolo went toward the back of the house. Deris' daughter tried to open the door, but it was locked, so she banged on it and demanded to be let in. Warren Deris reportedly came to the door and said "f-ya'll, I'm not going back to jail." Cade asked him to allow them to come inside. Deris responded "f-ya'll, ya'll not coming in here no," and raised his hand to show them what appeared to be a black semi-automatic handgun. In response, Cade drew his weapon and ordered Deris to put the gun down and open the door. Rivolo heard the verbal exchange and joined Cade at the door where he also drew his weapon. Deputies Jon-Michael Norris and Jerry Pettit arrived and joined Cade and Rivolo in the carport. Deris stepped away from the door and Rivolo, Norris and Pettit attempted to kick open the door while Bassil held the storm door open. Deputy Rivette arrived and went around the carport to get a different position. Deris returned to the door and reportedly told the deputies to stop kicking the door, and that he was going to kill them. He pointed a black air pistol at Pettit and then at Rivolo. The deputies told Deris to drop the gun, and then Cade, Pettit, Norris, and Rivolo shot him. The deputies stated that they fired because they believed their lives were in danger. They all said that the air pistol looked like a semi-automatic weapon. Deris' daughter said she'd told the deputies that her father's gun was an air pistol; the deputies said they didn't remember her telling them this. The police dispatch call log showed that the shots were fired two minutes and thirty-three seconds after the first deputy arrived on the scene.