Friends say man killed in shooting frustrated by child support system

SEATTLE – The man killed by police after he brandished a grenade in this city’s federal courthouse had grown increasingly upset and unstable recently as years of frustration with the child support system mounted, friends said Tuesday.

Perry L. Manley, 52, of Seattle, was shot to death by Seattle police Monday in the courthouse’s public lobby. An autopsy Tuesday confirmed he died of gunshot wounds but the King County Medical Examiner’s office refused to release any details.

Authorities said Manley had tried to bypass courthouse security while clutching a hand grenade, later found to be inactive.

Police and federal agents evacuated the downtown building and cordoned off the surrounding streets during the standoff with Manley, which lasted for about a half-hour. He was shot after making a “furtive move” with the grenade, U.S. Marshal Eric Robertson said.

Authorities said Manley was dressed in camouflage, carrying court papers and a living will.

The two Seattle Police officers who shot Manley were identified Tuesday as William Collins Jr., 40, and Timothy Pasternak, 46. They are on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.

The FBI served a search warrant Monday evening on a downtown apartment building, which friends identified as Manley’s residence. An explosives unit from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted in the search.

FBI agents should wrap up their investigation soon, spokeswoman Robbie Burroughs said Tuesday.

Manley was a critic of the child support system and the courts’ handling of parental custody issues, and had filed several lawsuits disputing his support obligations. Court documents said Manley was the divorced father of three children, ages 26, 23 and 22.

He was well known around the courthouse and led a small protest outside the building last month, when he attempted to burn an American flag. But there were no indications his frustrations would become violent, Robertson said.

“We’ve had a lot of contact with him, but nothing like what he did (Monday),” Robertson said.

Manley was ordered in July 2002 to appear in King County Superior Court for failing to pay more than $8,200 in child support. It was unclear from the court filings if Manley paid that bill, but his response to the orders alleged that he was being held in forced labor by the state.

Kevin Turner, of Bellevue, met Manley a few years ago through a child support reform group. He said Manley had become increasingly withdrawn and disgruntled in recent months.

“Frankly, it got to the point where I didn’t know how to talk to him,” Turner said. “A year ago, you could talk to him. But the last few months, he wasn’t really as ‘together’ as you would hope.”

Turner said Manley’s Internet postings and e-mail messages had taken on a darker tone, and he described Manley’s confrontation with police as “basically committing suicide.”

Manley had been homeless for a time, but had begun to turn his life around in the past few years, getting a job at a restaurant, Turner said. But even those improvements did not cure his ill feelings toward the custody and child support systems.

“Over the last few months he just hasn’t been that communicative or as solid emotionally as he had been. He was definitely on the slide,” Turner said.

Manley’s growing frustration with the legal system was evident in more recent court filings.

After repeated failed attempts to bring a federal lawsuit claiming former employers did not have a right to garnish his wages, Manley filed a rambling document in late May that quoted from the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence.

It also threatened to have U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly arrested for treason if he did not reinstate the case. Burroughs declined comment when asked if Manley was targeting Zilly or anyone in particular at the courthouse.

Susan Calhoun, Manley’s former wife, told KING-TV he became embittered and quit a high-paying job after their divorce in 1990 when a judge ordered him to make support payments for their three children.

“It was really about the money,” Calhoun said. ” ‘Don’t tell me what to do with my money.’ “

She did not return an Associated Press call for comment Tuesday.

Joe McGill, of Battle Ground, who knew Manley through a child custody group called The Other Parent, agreed that Manley’s statements had become “pretty bizarre.” But McGill said he didn’t think Manley intended to be killed by police Monday.

“I think it might have been his last step to be heard,” McGill said.