Friend remembers Pittsburgh-area man shot, killed by police over weekend
UPPER ST. CLAIR, Pa. (KDKA) — A friend of a man shot and killed by police in Upper St. Clair over the weekend said he does not want his friend's death to be in vain.
Trei Smith has been best friends with Christopher Shepherd for the past 40 years. He considered him a brother. When Shepherd's mother reached out to him Sunday night to say her son was shot and killed by police, he was shocked.
Smith said Shepherd suffered from bipolar disorder for at least the last 20-plus years. He said he's witnessed his episodes before and when they happen, Shepherd just needs his medication adjusted.
"He just needed help, and I'm sure that's all his mom was trying to get him," Smith said. "He was probably not making any sense and she was just looking to find some support from your local resources, the police force, etc."
Police were called to the home Shepherd shared with his mom for a domestic disturbance on Sunday. His mother decided her son needed help and an involuntary commitment order was issued.
But when officers arrived to take Shepherd into custody, police say he threatened officers with a knife through a window and SWAT was called in.
"The subject suddenly came out of the garage and approached the SWAT officers," Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns said. "He refused their commands, continued to approach the officer with a knife in his hand and several of the officers ended up firing at the subject."
Smith describes his best friend as a nonviolent person and says he didn't deserve the death that was bestowed upon him. He says Shepherd was a kind and caring person. He said that his friend volunteered all over the country for the Sierra Club, a grassroots environmental organization, and would have given anyone the shirt off his back.
He believes the police presence scared him in the state he was in and he became paranoid.
"I can't believe there couldn't have been a non-lethal way to resolve this," Smith said. "I don't want him to have died in vain for that."
Bethel Park police said the officers who assisted with the SWAT situation have been placed on paid administrative while the investigation continues.
