These two knew each other from church, and got into an argument on Facebook about the Black Lives Matter issue. Tyler was bi-polar and had not been taking his meds, and he went out of his mind; he threatened the officer on line, then went to the house. That's when the scene got real crazy. I'm sure the officer didn't want to shoot, they were friends, after all, but Tyler was a genuine danger to himself, the officer and the family.
This is more about the dangers of mental health than anything else, but the media can't resist fanning the flames of racial divide.
The officer's family is distraught, but they know they did the right thing under the circumstances.
And the person killed was really a nice kid most of the time; a good football player, and not what you would consider a gang banger. He probably got sucked in by the race hucksters himself, and with his unwillingness to take care of himself by taking his medication, he didn't have the common sense to dismiss them.
Affton HIgh School, where Gebhard graduated from two years ago, is about 10-15% black, and they haven't had racial problems.
BLM got to this kid, the blood is on their hands.
tragic situation.
Mental illness is a tragedy for families and friends.