An officer was fired after he chose not to shoot a distraught suspect. Now he's getting a $175,000 settlement

Authored by cnn.com and submitted by MS6_Boost

(CNN) A West Virginia city has agreed to pay a former police officer $175,000 to settle a wrongful-termination lawsuit after he was fired following his decision not to shoot a distraught suspect who was holding a gun.

The lawsuit accused the Weirton Police Department of wrongfully terminating officer Stephen Mader after he chose not to shoot a 23-year-old man while responding to a domestic disturbance in 2016.

"At the end of the day, I'm happy to put this chapter of my life to bed," Mader said in a news release by the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia.

"The events leading to my termination were unjustified and I'm pleased a joint resolution has been met. My hope is that no other person on either end of a police call has to go through this again."

The incident occurred May 6, 2016, when Mader responded to a domestic-disturbance call and found Ronald "R.J." Williams Jr. with an unloaded handgun.

victheone on February 12nd, 2018 at 19:20 UTC »

This guy is a shining example of a good cop. He analyzed the situation, concluded the guy wasn't a threat, and tried to de-escalate. He took a risk in order to try and save someone else. This is the definition of heroism.

SsurebreC on February 12nd, 2018 at 19:16 UTC »

[Police offer] Mader told CNN last year that [domestic disturbance suspect] Williams was "visibly choked up" and told Mader to shoot him. As a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan, Mader told CNN that he concluded Williams wasn't a threat and so he tried to de-escalate the situation.

Jesus, how often do you read a police officer do this? Williams had a gun!

As Mader was trying to get Williams to drop his gun, two other Weirton police officers arrived. Mader told CNN that Williams raised his gun and was immediately shot and killed by one of the other officers.

Williams tried to do suicide by cop, Mader tried to de-escalate, the other officers arrived, Williams took his chance, raised his gun at officers who aren't aware of the situation, and they fired.

PixPls on February 12nd, 2018 at 18:39 UTC »

Weird twist that a police officer decides NOT to shoot, and gets in trouble. Seems like city leaders want you to shoot and then take the heat, when you do.