Greece Police have released more information about the shooting in a parking lot at The Mall at Greece Ridge on Monday afternoon. They have identified the man shot and killed by police as 23 year old Joseph Ladd of Greece.
Chief Patrick Phelan says that the incident began with a call from a friend of Ladd, who said that Ladd had taken a large quantity of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, and was being violent and making suicidal threats.
Officer Eric Hughes spotted the car in parking lot at the mall, and Phelan says Ladd was in the passenger seat, and his girlfriend was behind the wheel.
Phelan says while Hughes was talking to Ladd, he called for backup after he found that Ladd had a clip of ammunition in his pocket, and he started reaching toward his waistband. He says while Hughes was talking to Ladd, the car started to move.
"The car began to drive forward, while Officer Hughes was partially inside the car and partially outside the car, dragging Officer Hughes some 70 feet.”
During this altercation, Hughes fired his gun, striking Ladd twice in the torso. Ladd was dead at the scene. The chief says Ladd did have a loaded handgun.
Other details are still under investigation, and police are reviewing security video from a nearby store.