By LOU CHIBBARO JR, Washington Blade
Nov 6 2008, 5:30 PM |
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D.C. police on Thursday shot and killed a gay man inside his Northwest Washington townhouse after the man threatened police officers with a knife, according to an account by a neighbor.
The neighbor, who lives in an adjoining townhouse in a town home and condominium complex at 1325 13th Street, N.W., said David Kerstetter had been suffering from bipolar disorder and had become severely depressed when his domestic partner died last year.
Acting Lt. Brett Parson, who oversees the police Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, said police shot and killed a male resident of one of the residential units in the complex following an “incident,” but he declined to identify the resident.
Parson said he could not disclose any additional details other than that police had been called to the man’s residence on a number of occasions in the past in response to problems caused by the man.
Police spokesperson Josh Aldiva said on Thursday afternoon that the incident was under investigation and that he could not comment until authorities decide to release additional information.
A public telephone directory lists David Kerstetter as the occupant of the townhouse unit where Parson said the shooting occurred. The neighbor confirmed that Kerstetter lived in the unit and that one or more police officers shot him about 10 a.m. Thursday morning following an altercation.
“He had severe mental problems,” the neighbor told the Blade. “His mother called someone to ask about him because she couldn’t reach him by phone,” the neighbor said.
The neighbor told the Blade that the person contacted by the mother alerted the building manager of the upscale townhouse and apartment complex, known as the Iowa, and the manager called police.
According to the neighbor, police accompanied the manager to Kerstetter’s townhouse entrance and attempted to contact him. The neighbor was not sure how police gained entranced to the house, but the neighbor said Kerstetter at some point threatened one or more police officers with a knife.
The neighbor heard the gunshots but did not personally witness the shooting.
A member of the Iowa condominium board who accompanied the building manager and police to Kerstetter’s townhouse witnessed the incident and told the neighbor what happened, the neighbor told the Blade.
City property records list Paul Brazitis as the owner of the townhouse. The neighbor said Brazitis died in October 2007 of a heart attack and that Kerstetter inherited the house from him.
The neighbor said police had been called to the house regularly over the years prior to Brazitis’s death in response to calls about the two men fighting.
Nearby residents knew that Kerstetter was emotionally unstable prior to Brazitis’s death, the neighbor said.
The neighbor said Kerstetter became severely depressed following Brazitis’ death and had attempted suicide on one occasion during the past year.
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