TRENTON, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities in west Tennessee have released 911 calls from the night when officers shot and killed a Trenton man who had threatened to shoot police and to kill himself.
Michael Bartkiewicz made the threats in multiple phone calls on Nov. 13, Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas told local media Monday. A dispatcher called Thomas to tell him about the calls.
“He said we’ve got a guy who’s making some 911 calls to dispatch, basically threatening to shoot some officers and asking officers to come to his house,” Thomas said. “If we didn’t show up, then he was going to come to town and start looking for officers.”
Bartkiewicz, 52, made at least six calls to law enforcement. In one call, he told dispatchers he was “having a crisis.”
“I’m looking for an officer to either come to my house and either shoot me, or I’m going to shoot them,” he said in another call.
A concerned friend of Bartkiewicz also called 911 and asked for a deputy to check on him.
Thomas and three deputies responded to Bartkiewicz’s house, along with Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers. They eventually shot and killed Bartkiewicz in his driveway after he came outside with what Thomas says appeared to be a gun. The gun was later determined to be fake.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and turned its findings over to the district attorney, who determined the shooting was justified.
Thomas said the deputies and dispatchers involved were offered counseling through the Tennessee Public Safety Network.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.