A woman whose husband was shot and killed by Johnston County sheriff’s deputies said they mishandled his mental health crisis.
Johnston County deputies responded quickly to Dorleen Richardson’s home after she called 911 to report her husband was experiencing a PTSD episode and was armed. But she says no one tried to talk him down before they began shooting.
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Richardson lit up on Monday while talking about the day she met her husband, Antony.
"He was a transit driver, and he had wrecked his car and he was catching the bus," Richardson said.
She said that was the start of a happy 21-year marriage.
"He was so reliable, you know ... and he was an excellent father," Richardson said.
But throughout their marriage, Antony struggled with PTSD. Last weekend, she said he wasn’t acting like himself and Sunday morning, he wouldn’t leave the garage.
"When I opened the door, he just started screaming and hollering. Shut the door. MF, shut the door, and he's never, never called me anything but queen. That's it. So that was a big shock. I was like, 'Oh my God.'"
When he threatened to kill himself, she called 911.
"And I said, he's having a mental crisis, and he has PTSD and he has a gun," she said. "I need help."
Within 10 minutes, deputies arrived and asked her to open the garage door. The sheriff’s office said in a release that deputies told Richardson to drop his gun multiple times. That’s when his wife said the bullets that killed him came ripping through the walls.
"He needed some help," Richardson said. "I never thought in a million years that by calling them and then within 10 minutes he'll be dead."
Sheriff Steve Bizzell said his deputies have crisis intervention training, so they know how to respond to people experiencing mental health emergencies. Richardson said she didn’t see it. The SBI is now investigating the shooting. The deputies involved are on administrative leave.
