Family claims shot by police hurt situation

The family police said were held hostage Wednesday night are saying they didn't feel endangered until an officer fired a shotgun into their home.

On Friday, Penny Ford told how she had asked her son's girlfriend to call police Wednesday because she was afraid her husband, Cleties, also known as Pete, was going to kill himself.

"We wanted the police to come over because he needed help," Penny Ford said. "Then they tried to shoot him."

What's worse, family members said, is that a shot fired by an officer narrowly missed her 18-year-old son, Chris Ford, who was standing on the landing just beyond the door. He said a ricochet from the shotgun blast hit him in the knee, leaving a bruise.

The shot tore through the lower half of a metal storm door at an upward angle, entering an inside wall at chest height.

Chris Ford said police weren't interested when he told them how close they came to shooting him.

"They could have killed Chris," Penny Ford said.

Department policy requires an investigation whenever an officer fires his weapon or uses force in any manner to make an arrest. Police said the investigation is still ongoing.

Police reported Thursday in a news release that they received a call from the Ford residence Wednesday saying that an armed man was in the house and he had threatened to kill himself and others in the house.

Ford is charged with three counts of false imprisonment, one count of unlawful use of a weapon and domestic assault. He is in Cape Girardeau County jail in lieu of $100,000 bond.

'Wanted help'

"I'm not saying what Pete did was right," Penny Ford said. "He shouldn't have pushed me and he shouldn't have threatened to kill himself. But I wanted to get him help, not shot at."

Penny Ford said she spent most of Wednesday evening in the bedroom talking with her despondent husband, trying to calm him down. She said his family has a history of depression and suicide, and she took his threat to kill himself seriously.

When he decided to leave the room, she tried to block his way and he pushed her, knocking her to the floor. That incident is the basis for the domestic assault charge he now faces, she said.

While Chris Ford tried to reason with his father, Penny Ford told her son's girlfriend, Sarah Hale, to call police.

Hale called police about 10 p.m., telling a dispatcher that Ford had a gun. She said Friday she thinks she might have told police the front door was locked.

In a telephone interview from the Cape Girardeau County jail, Cleties Ford said he had stepped out of the door and had planned to wait for a friend when he was confronted by police.

He said he was carrying a 12-pack of beer and two guns fastened in their holsters when he stepped out of the front door and saw police.

Chris locked the door behind him, thinking police would take his father into protective custody.

But police thought they were dealing with a hostage situation. They knew Ford had a gun and that there were people in the house.

When Cleties Ford stepped out the front door and was confronted by police, he said he panicked.

He threw one gun away and tried to go back inside, shoving at the locked door.

Shot fired

Patrolman Daniel "Ty" Metzger fired a shot at Ford as he forced his way back inside.

Police then chased Ford into the house, and he put his second gun in his mouth, telling them if they didn't back off he would kill himself, Penny Ford said.

The couple have lived in the split-level home on Dumais Drive for about 12 years. Neighbors and friends were stunned to hear there was trouble in the house.

"This is the house I come to when we have problems," said Jody Rister. "Penny and Pete always help me out."

abuchanan@semissourian.com

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