A father's attempt to teach his son a lesson after the boy took his truck without permission turned tragic after a local police officer shot and killed the teenager.
James Comstock called the cops after his son Tyler took his dad's truck in retaliation for refusing to buy him cigarettes, reports the Des Moines Register.
Ames, police officer Adam McPherson spotted the vehicle and pursued it onto the campus of Iowa State University, where a brief standoff ensued after Tyler allegedly refused to turn off the engine.
McPherson then fired six shots into the truck, two of which struck Tyler. He was later pronounced dead.
The official report claims the action was necessary "to stop the ongoing threat to the public and the officers."
"So he didn't shut the damn truck off, so let's fire six rounds at him?" angrily exclaimed Gary Shepley, Tyler's step-grandfather. "We're confused, and we don't understand."
James said his son was in the process of turning his life around, and was working on obtaining his GED.
"He was a smart kid. He made his own computers. He was interested in IT," James told the Register.
The family was even more stupefied after it was revealed that the Ames police department suggested twice that officers call off the pursuit.
McPherson is currently on paid leave pending an investigation.
Source: gawker.com
