November 9, 2009 in News

Suicidal man shot by police implied rash behavior

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A man described by friends as suicidal told his ex-girlfriend before he was shot by Spokane Valley police that something was going to happen “and it will be on the news,” according to court documents filed Monday.

David J. Glidden, 27, remains in stable condition at a local hospital after being shot twice in the upper body on Oct. 30, police said.

Officer Aaron Childress fired a handgun and Officer Griffin Criswell fired a 12-gauge shotgun at Glidden after he emerged from a Spokane Valley home armed with an Airsoft pellet pistol that resembles a Colt .45 semi-automatic pistol, according to court documents.

Some of those rounds went through the wall of a neighbor’s home. Glidden had been living at the home at 4727 E. Third Ave., for a few days after breaking up with his girlfriend, a friend told detectives.

That woman told police she’d been dating Glidden since September but recently left him and started receiving drunken, angry phone calls from him. The day of the shooting, Glidden predicted something would happen that would make the news, according to a search warrant filed Monday. The warrant seeks the call history for Glidden’s cell phone.

Glidden’s half-brother told police Glidden had been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and had been sober for about three months, according to the warrant. But the day of the shooting, he was drinking heavily, his ex-girlfriend told police.

Both of Glidden’s parents said they spoke with their son the night before the shooting, but the next morning, their son called friends drunk and despondent, according to the search warrant.

“Glidden was upset about the recent separation from his girlfriend and he was also upset because it was the anniversary date of the death of a family member,” a friend told police.

Another friend told police that “Glidden said he was going to kill somebody or kill himself.” The friend called 911.

Seven comments on this story so far. Add yours!

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  Rifleman__Dodd on November 09 at 9:06 p.m.

  and we all know that the Spokane/Spokane Police practice good fire control. Well not really, even when the cameras are running. So why are there not Camera’s on Patrol Cars?

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  becca2cool on November 09 at 10:50 p.m.

  Normally when someone is declared suicidal, that implys “A cry for help” !!! There should have been some kind of intervention before things got so out of control. The young man who was almost fatally shot by two police officers, was clearly depressed!
  His bio father died when he was only about 19 yrs of age. I’m sure he has endured more than his share of heartaches in his short life. I believe David would have cooperated with authorities if someone had taken the time to reach out to him in a more humane way. He needed someone to talk to, not a round of bullets in his gut…What if this had happened to you! or “your son” ??? The persons responcible for his almost fatal injuries should loose their Badges! They handled this situation “all wrong”…

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  SugarShane on November 09 at 11:30 p.m.

  SPD has a strict shoot first ask questions later policy. Fortunately, if you ever shoot a cop in spokane, you should have a pretty sound self defense claim. Ya know, a reasonable fear for your life.

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  rb1982 on November 13 at 11:02 a.m.

  Well there should have been something done about this issue before it got out of hand.

  The police should have tried to retrieve the so called weapon before taking fire.

  As far as him being an Alcoholic his friends and family should have tried to remove any items that he could hurt himself with.

  http://www.airsplat.com/Airsoft-Safety.htm

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  bkbroiler1234 on November 25 at 4:34 p.m.

  Airsoft Info Tips

  this should give anyone the info they need on airsoft, because its kind of obvious that this police officer neglected to see the bright orange tip that is required by law to be on every airsoft gun.

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  Supe on December 03 at 4:04 p.m.

  This is why you dont Mess around with Airsoft. Its a fun SPORT. They are not real weapons. Poor Kid.

  Gotta read your safety tips: http://www.airsplat.com/Airsoft-Safety.htm

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  DizzleFaShizzle on February 05 at 10:03 a.m.

  I know that we’ve all felt that way at one point in time, but to actually go through with things like this is nonsense. AND the fact that he had an Airsoft gun gives the sport a bad wrap and makes it seem like these items are problematic and dangerous when in reality, it requires responsibility and intelligence to make sure that problems with these models don’t keep happening and ruin it for the rest of us who enjoy this sport. Check out this link with your kids or friends to make sure situations like this can be avoided:

  http://www.airsplat.com/Airsoft-Safety.htm