E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSA University of South Alabama student who was found naked by campus police was killed by a single shot fired from an officer's weapon. WPMI's Darwin Singleton reports.
A day after a naked student at the University of South Alabama was fatally shot in the chest by a campus security guard, his mother and friends are asking why no other means were used to subdue the 18-year-old.
According to a statement released by the university, an officer heard loud banging on the police station window early Saturday and left his post to investigate. The man banging on the window was Gilbert Thomas Collar, an 18-year-old freshman who had graduated high school the previous spring. He was naked.
Collar was a wrestler whose favorite quotation, according to his Facebook profile, was “Be easy.” His profile photo is of himself, sporting a skinny black tie and light facial hair, his arm wrapped around his mother.
According to the university statement, the officer “was confronted by a muscular, nude man who was acting erratically. The man repeatedly rushed and verbally challenged the officer in a fighting stance.”
The officer allegedly asked Collar to stop, but the young student chased him “in a threatening manner and ignored the officer’s repeated commands.”
That’s when the officer drew his police sidearm and shot Collar once, striking him in the chest.
Collar “got up once more and continued to challenge the officer further before collapsing and expiring,” the report said. The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
Collar’s mother told CNN she doesn’t understand why the officer had to shoot her son. Her son, she said, was 5-foot-7 and weighed 135 pounds.
“He was wearing no clothes and he was obviously not in his right mind,” Bonnie Collar said. “Obviously he was not armed. He was completely naked.”
Sophomore Tyler Kendrick was also dissatisfied.
"Really, it just upsets me that there's no other way to apprehend an unarmed student rather than shooting him. I don't understand that," Kendrick told The Associated Press.
Campus officials said the confrontation was recorded by security cameras. The video and other information has been turned over to the district attorney and the Mobile County Sheriff's Office, which will review the shooting.
A university spokesman declined to say Saturday whether Collar was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The University of South Alabama is in Mobile and serves 15,000 students.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Video: School dinner is keeping some US children from going hungry
- How Border Patrol 'friendly fire' incident unfolded
- Plot to bomb 48 Okla. churches uncovered, police say
- Abu Hamza, 4 others tied to al-Qaida arrive in US to face terrorism charges
- Toddler's remains found buried in Long Island backyard
- Video: Rare spider creates web of controversy
Leave a Comment:
These new synthetic drugs just aren't like grampa's weed. ya never know what your gonna get. For everyone blaming the cop, did ya see the story of the face eater? or the one about the actor and his landlady. Psycho naked guy on bath salts or "smiles", was a deadly weapon.
It's likely the Kampus Kop was no match for a 135 lb collegiate wrestler hand to hand. That said, there was no need to meet the victim hand to hand. The law enforcement officer could easily have retreated and called for backup. The Kop's "Dirty Harry" complex compelled him to gun down an unarmed civilian.
Hon, your big athletic son got high as a kite and decided to attack a police station nude. He overpowered a and scared the crap out of an average police officer who only gets paid an average wage and has a family to take care of. He got killed. Please complain and sue because this is America, the land where idiots get compensated.
I was ready to blame the guard till I read the story. All too often police kill people who ware mentally ill who are not a threat. Just because someone threatens you with a knife is no reason to shoot them, if they are standing twenty fee away from you. But if a man is running at you, and you are armed, and can't get away, you shoot to kill. Those are the rules of engagement. The attacker could have grabbed the gun from the guard, then shot the guard, then shot other students, women and children. When you have a firearm, your first responsibility is to prevent the firearm from falling into the wrong hands. That is why most homeowners are shot by their own firearm. Their attacker takes their gun away from them, then uses it on them, because the homeowner hesitates to shoot. When it is time to shoot, you can't hesitate, or you are lost.
When you have a firearm you sometimes have to use it. In a case like this, the guard should have been armed with a Taser. If he had time, he should have shot the Taser first. In any event it doesn't sound like the guard was at fault. Anyone who attacks an armed man should expect to die. That is why George Zimmerman will go free. People have a right to self-defense. An attack on an armed man can easily turn lethal. People have guns taken away from them everyday, and used on them. More homeowners die from being shot with their own gun, than kill intruders. More often than not, the intruder takes the gun from the homeowner and shoots the homeowner dead.
Their may not be evidence from the video the officer was attacked. Very likely the officer has issues including the bad judgement of not staying inside and calling for police backup and EMS, the latter to deal with an obvious medical problem with the boy. Beyond that, very likely Zimmerman syndrome
Let the investigation proceed. I do not blame the mother for a second for wondering why her son needed to be fatally shot. He sounds like a relatively small/thin guy and perhaps the cop could have avoided being close enough to him to need to shoot. I hope the video has audio as well because what was said is critical.
Diana
He wasn't small or thin.
He was very muscular. He had been one of the better wrestlers in the State for 6 years. He was trained in hand to hand combat and knew all the moves necessary to take out a much bigger opponent.
I also don't blame the Mother she has to wonder why such a nice and gentle young man freaked out and is now dead.
What happened this night was 180 degrees from the type of person that he was.
It's called a Taser and it will stop a 135 pound naked young man. And firearms for campus security guards should only be considered for extreme cases. This guard is going to have live with this mistake for the rest of their life, and yes I did say mistake. A Taser would have wrapped up this situation with a much happier ending rather than a mourning mother asking a campus security guard why he or she chose such a fatal method.
He wasn't a security guard that one line in the story is an error. He is a fully trained police officer.
You will notice that later in the story he is called an OFFICER and he pulled his POLICE sidearm.
I would have liked to of seen a taser or pepper spray at least tried.
Still they probably wouldn't have worked. This was a gentle and courteous young man that was now completely psychotic.
If drugs were involved (my guess) those things don't always work. Especially if it was PCP, I don't know anything about these new drugs. I do remember several incidents were several tasers or several cops couldn't hold down one guy on PCP. Under PCP the person feels no pain and mentally is in a totally different universe.
JOregon,
I'm afraid that most of the posters have already made up their minds. They read that he was a 135 lb student, and immediately they have a mental image of a sweet, tow-headed Justin Bieber waif of a "boy". That's why we keep seeing references to "child" and "kid". Middle-class, white, suburban, students don't become "Men" until they A) feel that they are entitled to drink alcohol or rent a car, or B) are looking for a job. In any cases where they might be in trouble, they or their parents refer to them as "boys" or "kids". Remember also that drug usage among students is "experimenting", "having fun", "harmless partying" or "accidental". Never will the issue of personal responsibility come up in a discussion of student behavior. Had this guy proceeded to beat a woman to death as the UVA lacrosse player not too long ago, or had he killed a woman as the guy at SUNY did last week, then people would be outraged that the Police did not stop a naked, muscular "MAN" who was trained to subdue people with his hands; and we would be in a long discussion about campus violence where the students are the perpetrators.
Until the video is made available to the public every assumption put on here is simply just that. He may or may not have acted in any way actually threatening to the cop. Maybe he had a few drinks and wanted to pull a collegiate prank on some police. This was after all just a statement from the officer who shot and killed the young man. None of you are in any position to judge anyone. From my understanding he was a loved member of a community. Loved by many! The boy was not armed. Let the facts present themselves before you assume he was a drugie or thug. Have just a little respect for his family and friends. This country is becoming filthy.
It is just as likely the boy was coming to report a crime, such as a fraternity prank taken to extremes, and the officer was unable to respond constructively to the boy. That would anger most. The audio and video will hopefully confirm the circumstance. It is cruel and baseless to assume drugs, alcohol or salts were involved at this point. Those conjectures just seem like misguided gun control fanatics trying to spin favorable disposition for yet another tragedy caused by their with their sacred guns they seem to place over life itself.
Then the "boy" would have serious issues. Are you saying that 18 year olds are now "boys" and are excused in throwing tantrums if adults don't "respond constructively" to them? Are you suggesting that since he was a Policeman that he therefore did not have the intellectual capacity to understand what this intelligent and obviously rational young man was trying to convey to him? Yikes, talk about baseless. If 18 year olds are pulling "pranks" on armed policemen, then they shouldn't be in college, and they most certainly shouldn't be let out of the country.
I am saying it is likely he was looking for help./
Yes, i think this officer lack the capacity to assess the situation and respond constructively which is his job. He reached for the much heralded and NRA marketed "solution" to most any feeling of "threat". Another daily unnecessary murder.
So where did the boy learn that running around naked and attacking others is acceptable behavior? And why? Where is his personal responsibility? Mom? Dad? That's you.
This is America. The 'right to self-defense' equals the right to impose immediate death penalty on anyone you feel even mildly threatens you.
Going out on a limb here.. I'm certainly no Physics expert but I imagine I MIGHT be able to find some other means of defending my 5'11" 170 pound self against a 5'7" 135 naked guy.
Considering he was trained in hand to hand fighting.
Trained to take down a much bigger opponent.
In the peak of physical health and strength.
An above average athlete.
I'm guessing you would be wondering why your prostate looked like that.
@J
"He wasn't a security guard that one line in the story is an error. He is a fully trained police officer."
A FULLY trained officer will also have hand to hand combat training unless we are only training bookworm pussies who can only use a gun. My father was in law enforcement until he retired so I had a chance to know a great many of them. Even the older ones werent pussies.
No cop willingly engages in hand to hand combat because the risk is to great he would lose his weapon radio and possibly his life. You only use hand to hand combat when you are thrown into that position - Ask your Daddy.
@J
It all nice to armchair quarterback this, but think of the cop. He killed an unarmed kid. Even officers who are involved in fully justifiable shootings where the suspect is armed with a gun have emotional issues and nightmares from having to kill. This guy is gonna be in bad shape because if he is a halfway decent person he will wonder for the rest of his life what he could have done differently. He is gonna have issues knowing he killed an unarmed 18 y/o kid. Anyone, even that officer can talk big and tough, but it is gonna mess with his head.
edandbunny
I agree.
I also have to feel for the parents they are going to be asking were there any warning signs. Was there something they could have done different.
In the end we may find out he was just trying to fit in and find new friends. Someone probably suggested they try some drug and he did, that kid will also have that on his head for the rest of his life.
Sadly a life was lost, there are no winners.
This is Darwian Life in full view. If human beings want to run around like monkeys, they are not going to be treated like human beings. It is time for Universities to shutdown the drugs and the alcohol. Expel drunks immediately! Shutdown any fraternity/sorority where drinking occurs. Shutdown any bar that lets a student get drunk. Heck, ban the bars on campus. If college students want to get drunk, expel them!
I'll go you one better - let's bring back the inquisition. God forbid we expect the police to exercise a little restraint.
He was naked. He was 18. He weighed 135 lbs. And he was shot.
And he probably could have killed YOU with his bare hands.
Earlier he attempted to assault others and tried to bite a woman on her arm.
He was trained in hand to hand fighting.
I like how people on here attack others over an opinion. Just a bunch of loud mouth Obama supporters with no tolerance. And you wonder why the country is so @!$%#ed up.
No greater fun can be had on a keyboard in Moms basement.
Fun times.
JOregon,
The point is the officer had no idea he was a HS wrestler. Did you see the photo of him when he was wrestling? He was no very large or intimidating in appearance. The officers job is to assist and protect. As long as the boy was banging on the window, naked and acting strange and if the lack of training or conditioning of the officer led him to believe he could not mange the boy which he had benefit of seeing all of, he could have stayed inside and called for backup and most certainly EMS.
If the boy left the area, he could then follow him. Perhaps backup would have arrived by then. We don't even know if the officer was alone in the station. Surely he was not the only one working on campus. All dorms are locked at 1:30 a.m. The boy had no dorm swipe in his pocket, so he was locked out of dorms.
Unless the officer was capable of these simple, common sense actions, he was derelict in his duties in my opinion.
As far as drugs or erratic behavior, we only have the officers story who after killing a boy likely was upset and perhaps wanting to cover his ass.
You seem to need some help with your anxiety. It is hard to believe with a child in college you have so little compassion for this mom and her deceased son. You are making unkind, disparaging suppositions which are frankly cruel. And yes, I have a daughter who is a freshman in college
All this shooting of unarmed scrawny teenage boys who are acting out by burly older men with guns is making me ashamed of my own gender. Are there any men out there anymore? Just a bunch of pathetic pussies with guns blowing away unarmed children because they were "threatening?" Is this what we've come to?
You the boy's dealer?
you must be the screwed up scrawny type.....
Just another junkie on a bad trip. Cop saved some innocent from having their face eaten.
Dude got what was coming to him. You wanna run around naked challenged police officers, then don't bitch about the outcome. All you people defending him, I bet you people won't go running around naked acting a damn fool. Wise up people and stop with this "Evil cops" blah blah blah crap. You people have no idea what law enforcement have to put up with and you have no gratitude for law enforcement....tell you what... next time you need help, call a crackhead to protect you.. see how far that gets you when you need law enforcement to protect your weak pathetic selves.
AfroSamurai: " you have no gratitude for law enforcement"
Answer: WE pay the "law enforcement" with our blood and sweat -got it! We pay for their food , clothing and everything else.
If you are a POLICE officer, it would be FOOLHARDY for you to tackle a "Wrestler" on a physical "one for one" encounter.....ESPECIALLY if you are carrying a FIREARM. He could take that away from you and shoot you instead.
So, I feel that the Police Officer did what he had to do. "Stop" the Agressor with ONE SHOT to the chest. END of STORY.........or ISSUE.
NEXT!!
Do you wish to try THAT on a Police Officer? With a GUN?
NOT ME!! Besides, NUDIST COLONIES are a thing of the past!!
That NUDIST, through his tuition, paid the cop's salary - and the cop killed him for that. That's called gratitude!
I pay you, so therefore you have no right to stop me from attacking you?
Barney Fife
What kind of idiot does it take to rush an officer with a gun? I suspect that he is too stupid to be around anyway !!
Soon, there will be more killer cops than killer bandits in this country, which really makes no difference - both are killers. Oh, pardon me - we pay the killer cops with our taxes :) and then we pay for the killer bandits to keep them alive in prison. Any ways - we are totaly screwed.
Everyone keeps writing that he was unarmed but I believe he had two arms. Say no to steroids.
Stupid liberals. Why don't some of you work as security guards? I'd like to see what you would do in this situation. Stupid arm-chair quarterbacks. People high on PCP, e.g., attain super-human strength. It doesn't matter if they are "135 lb". Any armed security person who is aggressively threatened by a non-coherent person and who's life is threatened has the right to put the crazy down. PERIOD.
You can do a lot of damage with a pencil.
they should strip the clothes off that trigger happy cop and send him running and dancing in a serpentine style while bullets are grazing his self appointed executioners Ass - he is actually a murderer!
At what point in time do you think we are all responsible for our own actions? Druggies want to take drugs and be crazy - that's their problem. Quit bothering the rest of society with their stupidity! Cops and Security Guards aren't our "daddies" and "mommies". Not their job! You want a mommy and daddy, move back home. Otherwise, grow up and take accountability!
Parents just want their "kids" to be babysat in college. That's why they continue to refer to this young man as a "child" and a "kid". They want some form of law enforcement around to hammer the bad people from off-campus who might want to hurt their kids. They also want these same LEOs to change caps and become chaperones when their kids break the laws. When "junior" overturns a car and sets it on fire during a post-season football riot or when "missy" gets drunk and gets into a fender bender on campus, they want the chaperones to quietly handle it with kid gloves and make it go away. This LEO did what most cops would do off-campus to a non-student offender when placed in exactly the same position. What is getting all these parents and students angry is that the LEO "forgot" that college is special and that real world laws and concepts such as personal responsibility don't apply on campus.