If anyone's head should roll, it should be the officers responsible for the slain officer's training.
The following is an editorial from back in Feburary, 2001...Read on...
It is a matter of life and death - and two paidFebruary 18, 2001
The tragic deaths of Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Schwenz and Centreville Patrolman Michael Nickerson send an urgent message that at least two elected officials seem to have missed.
Their slayings demonstrate the urgent need to shore up Maryland's mental health department.
Maryland's Mental Hygiene Administration faces a nearly $42 million deficit, which means the administration may be forced to stop making payments to hospitals and other mental health service providers throughout Maryland. The Maryland House Appropriations subcommittee was warned this week that in May or June the money could run out at least until July 1, when new, but inadequate, appropriations begin.
Four years ago, Maryland changed the way it funded psychiatric care clinics. The upshot is that some clinics have gone under because they were not reimbursed quickly enough for the care they provided. Others are struggling because they say the money the state offers is inadequate to cover the cost of providing necessary services to Maryland's mental patients.
Queen Anne's County State's Attorney David Gregory can say that Francis Zito got adequate help, but we think the record quite vividly says otherwise.
A 1999 evaluation of Francis Mario Zito indicates he suffers from bipolar disorder and has had multiple psychiatric hospitalizations. The evaluation was filed by Dr. Donald W. Nachand, Ph.D., who conducts pre-trial forensic screening evaluations for Maryland's Mental Hygiene Administration.
A search of Maryland District Court computer records for cases involving Zito revealed a dozen criminal cases dating back to 1993 in which he was charged with battery, assault and other offenses. Many of the cases were nol prossed, or dropped, by prosecutors; placed on the stet, or inactive, docket; or ended in acquittals. District court records also show that six times between 1993 and 1998 - and one time last month - a judge ordered Zito to be taken by police for an emergency evaluation at a hospital after petitions were filed by his mother, Betty Zito.
Mrs. Zito filed six similar petitions over a five-year period. Each time the judge ordered Frank Zito be taken to a hospital for examination and emergency care. Five times Zito was taken by police to Kent & Queen Anne's Hospital and one time to Memorial Hospital at Easton.
In a Jan. 14, 1993 petition, Mrs. Zito wrote that her son was diagnosed as schizo-affective. Frank Zito roamed town frightening people; slapped his mother and grabbed her head and shook her, the petition said.
In each petition Mrs. Zito filed, the judge found probable cause "to believe that the emergency evaluee has shown the symptoms of a mental disorder and that there does appear to be clear and imminent danger of the evaluee's doing bodily harm to the evaluee or another."
Why were Mrs. Zito and the townspeople of Centreville subjected to years and years of this behavior? At some point shouldn't there have been relief?
In his proposed budget, Gov. Parris Glendening earmarks $3 million to help pay the mental health debt. But a state policy analyst says a minimum of $10 million is needed. He also warns of serious job vacancy rates in Maryland's 11 psychiatric treatment facilities.
If you ever doubted that mental health services were a life and death matter you need only look to the tragedy played out at Frank Zito's trailer in Centreville the evening of February 13.
If the deaths of Deputy Schwenz and Patrolman Nickerson have touched your hearts as they have ours, call or write the Eastern Shore Delegation to the Maryland General Assembly and Gov. Glendening this week. Tell them you want Maryland's psychiatric services properly funded - NOW.
They won't execute this poor bastard...they'll be lucky if he's found competent to stand trial. I also found a LTE from a neighbor of Zito's who advised the entire neighborhood had attempted to get him help and the Health Department refused.
And again, there is nothing more dangerous than dealing with a mentally ill person in his home...and no more dangerous entry than into a trailer...why these two officers choose to enter is beyond me. My guess would be that they had delt with him before and believed him to be harmless...or they were rookies and didn't know him at all.
Unfrigginbelievable...and absolutely tragic that two officers had to die because MD would rather build two stadiums than fund public health.
Betty Zito also urged the dispatcher to send help immediately because she feared one of the officers was dying.Centreville Police Officer Michael S. Nickerson, 25, and Queen Anne´s Sheriff´s Deputy Jason C. Schwenz were killed Tuesday evening, Feb. 13 at Frank Zito´s Centreville home, where they had gone to handle a loud noise complaint. Nickerson and Schwenz first tried to contact Frank Zito, then went to Mrs. Zito´s nearby home for the key. When she heard shots, Mrs. Zito called 911.
A tape of that 911 call was obtained by The Star Democrat and transcribed by a reporter.
Operator: 911, do you have an emergency?
Mrs. Betty Zito: Hello - get an ambulance to 307 Hammonds Lane right away. There's two officers down.
Operator: There's two officers down?
Mrs Zito: Yes, please.
Operator: OK.
Mrs. Zito: An ambulance right away.
Operator: Yes ma'am. Can you tell me how bad they're injured?
Mrs. Zito: I don't know - my son's... (crying) crazy.
Operator: OK, did your son do this ma'am?
Mrs. Zito: (Crying) I don't know, I don't know what's happened.
Operator: OK, get them to Zito's, they've got two officers down. OK Mrs. Zito, Mrs. Zito are you by yourself?
Mrs. Zito: Yes.
Operator: OK, listen to me, where's he at?
Mrs. Zito: He's over in his trailer. They tried to break in on him and he told them not to and they tried.
Operator: Ma'am where are the officers now? Where are the officers now?
Mrs. Zito: They're out at his place - my God get someone out here right away one of them might be dying.
Operator: OK, Mrs. Zito I've got somebody coming, I need you to tell me can you see them from where you're looking?
Mrs. Zito: I can see them if I go to the window to look.
Operator: OK, are they on the ground?
Mrs. Zito: Yes, one's inside the trailer and one's outside on the ground cause he ran.
Operator: OK, I've got one outside on the ground and one inside the trailer. Mrs. Zito I want you to stay on the line with me okay?
Mrs. Zito: OK.
Operator: I'm gonna keep Mrs. Zito on the line.
Mrs. Zito: Oh please get somebody here (cries).
Operator: OK, Mrs. Zito, I want you to calm down. I've got one laying in the yard and one inside the trailer. She says they're not moving.
Mrs. Zito: There's another officer out there with the one on the ground.
Operator: There's an officer bent over the one on the ground. She said there's somebody with the one on the ground.
Mrs. Zito: Let me see if he's still there.
Operator: Mrs. Zito where's your son now? Mrs. Zito? Mrs. Zito? Mrs. Zito? I'm trying to establish that he's still in his trailer. Mrs. Zito, Mrs. Zito?
Mrs. Zito: He's not on the ground now I don't know where he is. I don't see anybody around outside, I guess because... I didn't even know Frank had a damn gun in there.
Operator: OK, Mrs. Zito listen to me I want you to calm down one minute, okay. Where is your son?
Mrs. Zito: He's inside the trailer. I don't know if he's shot or not - my God I heard three shots I think.
Operator: OK.
Mrs. Zito: (Cries out.)
Operator: OK, Mrs. Zito, Mrs. Zito take a deep breath. I want you to calm down, OK? I want you to stay with me. We have got some help going okay? Can you see anybody at all? Can you see the other officer that was in the trailer?
Mrs. Zito: No, I see the cop cars outside there - they must have taken him in another trailer or something I don't know but there's three cop cars out there in the yard.
Operator: Can you tell if they're state police or town officers?
Mrs. Zito: There's the town officer, a young guy, and a, I forget what he said his name was and then there's a state police and then someone else.
Operator: OK, he does have other officers with him?
Mrs. Zito: I don't know which ones where shot.
Operator: You don't know who was shot?
Mrs. Zito: No.
Operator: OK, listen to me. I want you to stay on the line. I want you to take a deep breath.
Mrs. Zito: (Crying.) Says something inaudible.
Operator: OK, Mrs. Zito listen to me, OK? I know you're upset I want you to take a deep breath, OK?
Mrs. Zito: Yes.
Operator: Take a deep breath and let's calm down, OK? You can help us and help my officers by giving me any information that you have.
Mrs. Zito: OK.
Operator: OK?
Mrs. Zito: The neighbors called because his radio was too loud.
Operator: OK.
Mrs. Zito: An officer came to the door and asked him to come out. He wouldn't come out. The officer kicked his glass out of his door.
Operator: OK.
Mrs. Zito: And then I went, the officer came over here and I called Frank and Frank said no he wasn't coming out cause he hadn't done anything wrong, they were just harassing him.
Operator: OK, you have not seen him come out of the trailer, correct?
Mrs. Zito: No.
Operator: He's still in the trailer?
Mrs. Zito: As far as I know.
Operator: OK.
Mrs. Zito: (Cries.) My God, these people are slow getting here.
Operator: OK, we've got them coming Mrs. Zito. We want to make sure nobody else is gonna get hurt.
Mrs. Zito: There's somebody walking around out there on the lawn now.
Operator: Is it your son?
Mrs. Zito: I don't know who it is.
Operator: OK.
Mrs. Zito: Here comes a car, here comes something now. Where in the hell did he get the gun? Where?
Operator: Mrs. Zito can you look over Frank's house and see anything for me?
Mrs. Zito: The cops are running into Doug's trailer. Wait a minute I'll look. (Leaves phone.)
Operator: OK. Mrs. Zito? She said all the officers are running to the trailer next door where they've taken the wounded officer - they've taken a wounded officer to the trailer next door is what she's telling me - an injured officer.
Mrs. Zito?
Mrs. Zito: I think it's Frank on the ground out here and then there's another person on the ground over there.
Operator: OK you think Frank's laying on the ground?
Mrs. Zito: I think so.
Operator: What's he wearing?
Mrs. Zito: I don't know, I honestly don't - it's a red shirt so it's not a police officer on the ground - let me go see. (Leaves phone.)
Operator: All right, OK - we've got another subject on the ground in a red shirt they think is Frank Zito. Mrs. Zito has gone to look she's coming back in a minute.
Mrs. Zito: I think that's Frank on the ground.
Operator: OK, who's got Frank on the ground?
Mrs. Zito: The police officers.
Operator: OK, the police officers have Frank? The police officers have Frank according to Mrs. Zito - Frank Zito that's who they went after - OK listen to me, where are the other officers? I'm trying to find out where my wounded officers are.
Mrs. Zito: Do you want me to run over to Frank's trailer?
Operator: No, no, no I want you to stay put, OK I don't want anybody anymore outside, OK? I don't want you outside it's a very unsecure scene there right now OK, OK?
Mrs. Zito: But what about the other officers?
Operator: We've got ambulances coming and we've got other officers there.
Mrs. Zito: Where did he get a gun from, where? Oh God, he didn't have a gun.
Operator: Are there officers over top Frank now?
Mrs. Zito: Yes, they're standing over him.
Operator: OK. Frank Zito's in custody according to his mom.
Mrs. Zito: (Cries something inaudible.)
Operator: OK, OK, OK, Mrs. Zito take a deep breath and calm down.
Mrs. Zito: He wanted it...(cries something inaudible.)
Operator: Mrs. Zito, OK calm down, okay. You're my eyes out there, okay. You need to tell me what's going on now.
Mrs. Zito: OK just a minute. (Leaves phone.)
Operator: Mrs. Zito says they've got him on the ground. She's gonna go make sure its Frank. There's somebody on the ground in a red shirt.
(Someone enters Mrs. Zito's trailer and begins speaking. She cries out in background, "Killed? Get an ambulance. Dial 911.")
Doug Larrimore: Hello?
Operator: Hello I'm here - what's your name?
Doug Larrimore: Doug Larrimore. We're at the shooting scene.
Operator: OK.
Larrimore: At 303 Hammond Street. This is Frank's mother.
Operator: OK, I understand she's been talking to me. I need to know what's going on there Doug, you're my eyes, OK?
Larrimore: OK, there are two officers are down; I know one is D-O-A I think he's dead and they're working on the other one. They have the subject, he's in custody. They have him.
Operator: OK, is it a town officer? Can you advise me?
Larrimore: It's a town officer and a sheriff's officer.
Operator: Can you tell me their injuries at all?
Larrimore: As far as I know ma'am I heard them saying that the officer on the porch in the house is D-O-, is, is dead.
Operator: Are you sure?
Larrimore: Yes ma'am cause they're not trying to work on him at all they're working on a town cop laying out in the middle of the yard.
Operator: OK. All right, that's all I'm gonna need from you, OK. Tell Mrs. Zito to call me back I'm gonna let you go, OK?
Larrimore: You want me to tell Mrs. Zito to call you back?
Operator: Ah, no, I'll tell you what let's just, we'll go ahead and break this line now okay?
Larrimore: OK, ma'am.
Operator: All right, thank you.
Larrimore: Bye.
The officers knew he was not coming out...and they forced their way in on a loud noise complaint. There is absolutely no reason for them to be dead...they had no authority to kick in the door. This was a barricade situation and the procedure is to secure the perimeter and call for backup and a negotiator...
How this nutcase got a shotgun is another tragedy...