CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Chesterfield Police Chief Col. Jeffrey Katz said someone needed to answer for why the man accused in the Tuesday night shooting of two police officers was out of prison in the first place. Katz's comments came as Chesterfield Police released new information about the violent night.
According to the police, 28-year-old Kelvin A. Hunter was visiting family at a Timsberry Circle home when someone in the home called police concerned about Hunter's behavior.
"Officers had been on scene for approximately 20 minutes and were waiting on a return call from the crisis team with the Chesterfield Community Services Board when Hunter attacked the officer who was with him," a Chesterfield Police spokesperson wrote in an email. "Hunter attempted to take the officer's holstered firearm and a struggle ensued over the weapon."
The police officer was shot. His bulletproof vest might have saved his life.
A second officer, who was upstairs at the time, came downstairs and exchanged gunshots with Hunter, police said.
Both were hit. Hunter and both officers were treated and released from the hospital.
Hunter has since been charged with two counts of aggravated attempted murder and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
"Hunter's intent cannot be misinterpreted," Chief Katz said in a statement. "This suspect was convicted of a violent offense, in prison, and released early — only to cause harm to my officers. Someone should answer for that."
When police responded to the Timsberry Circle home, they were told they were responding to an emotionally-disturbed person. That could mean someone dealing with mental health issues or someone whose mind is altered by drugs.
“We go on enough mental health calls, and our resources are taxed enough with mental health calls for services, that it’s not uncommon for officers to run into these situations," Chesterfield Police Major Brad Badgerow said. "They know what they need to do. They know that de-escalation is first and foremost.”
Badgerow said with mental health calls, there are sometimes barriers to getting people services in a timely manner.
"The system is broken," he said. “In Chesterfield, we don’t have any hospitals with psych beds, so anytime Chesterfield County Police have to take somebody to a bed with a psychiatric facility, it’s always out of jurisdiction, so that’s very problematic for us."
VCU professor Dr. William Pelfrey said law enforcement almost always responds first and then calls for help if needed.
“In a perfect world, police could have a social worker on call or a counseling psychologist or a clinical psychologist on call who could come and help,"
Pelfrey said. "But we don’t live in a perfect world. People like that are really expensive and they’re not trained to deal with somebody who’s experiencing a crisis where they’re dangerous, police are."
Court records indicated Hunter was sentenced to 10 active years in prison in March 2014. He served more than eight years of his term.
"We are grateful for the support we have received and we are deeply proud of our officers who acted bravely in the face of a violent attack," Katz's statement continues. "We will continue to do our best to keep you informed as our investigation develops."
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