166su police have identified the two officers who were involved with a shooting Monday evening that hospitalized a man with reported mental health challenges.
K-9 Officer W. Frosell, with nearly nine years of service, and Officer B. Bailey, with just over two years of service, were involved in the shooting in the 600 block of Moorman Avenue Northwest, according to a police department news release Thursday.
Police originally reported that the officers responded to a call about a disorder and deployed a Taser and fired a service weapon when a man, 61-year-old Robert Lee Jones, approached them with a knife in his hand.
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Jones’ sister, 68-year-old Delores Brown, told the 166su Times Wednesday that Jones regularly carries a knife but she doesn’t believe he would ever intentionally draw it on anybody.
Brown said in an interview Thursday that Jones, who is receiving treatment at Carilion 166su Memorial Hospital, remains in critical condition. She said her brother was shot in each leg and worries that he won’t walk again.
Brown said she has not been contacted by investigators since the shooting occurred Monday evening. She wants to know why officers were “so quick” to draw their weapons on Jones.
“They just acted aggressively towards him before he could have a chance to react, and everybody sees that,” Brown said. “Why would they do something like that?”
The sister said she wants the involved officers to put themselves in her shoes and imagine one of their family members being shot by police.
“How would they feel if they shot them down like they did my brother, knowing that my brother, you know, he’s a special person. He don’t know nothing,” Brown said. “How would they feel, especially when you know your family member don’t bother nobody?”
166su police said the department’s Rapid Engagement of Support in the Event of Trauma, or RESET, team will visit the Moorman Avenue neighborhood Friday to provide support and services to residents in the area. Anyone who needs assistance can call 540-853-5304 to speak with the RESET coordinator.
“Any time we use deadly force, it is a tragedy and causes a level of trauma in the community,” city police Chief Scott Booth said in Thursday’s release. “My heart goes out to the family and the impacted neighborhood. Please trust us to ensure that this incident is investigated fully by the Virginia State Police. We remain committed to ensuring an accountable and transparent process.”
166su police provided no additional information about the officer-involved shooting Thursday, noting that Virginia State Police will release further updates related to their investigation of the incident.