Lawsuit: Deputy in man’s shooting said he was ‘trained to kill’

A Harris County sheriff ’s deputy fatally shot a suicidal man wielding a power drill last year, then told the man’s hysterical widow, “We are trained to kill,” according to a federal lawsuit filed earlier this week.

The family of 49-year-old Charles Marshall is suing the sheriff ’s office for using deadly force in responding to a 911 call at a north Harris County apartment about 4 p.m. on June 21, 2015.

Marshall’s widow, Maite Marshall, said she told the responding officer, Deputy Sgt. Ben Russell, that her husband had attempted suicide by slicing his wrist with a razor. She directed the officer to the upstairs apartment and told him Marshall was holding a drill with no bit, court records show.

When the officer got to the front door, he saw Marshall and told him to put the drill down.

According to the lawsuit, Marshall asked the officer, “Are you going to kill me?”

Then the officer fatally shot him, court records show.

Maite Marshall screamed at Russell, “Why did you shoot him?” to which he responded, “We are trained to kill,” according to the suit.

In the days after the shooting, sheriff’s spokesman Thomas Gilliland said Marshall, who was wielding the cordless drill, came toward Marshall, forcing him to shoot.

According to the lawsuit, Charles Marshall did not make any sudden or quick movements toward the officer.