Campus police at California State University San Bernardino shot and killed a graduate student following an altercation Saturday night, authorities said.
Police said officers responded to University Village, an off-campus student dormitory, regarding a disturbance involving Bartholomew Williams, 38.
Williams became aggressive and an altercation with officers followed in the hallway of the dorm, the college said in a statement. Officers then fired their weapons because they feared for their lives, police said.
Williams died at the scene.
One officer was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injury.
Williams was majoring in educational instructional technology, and started at the school in the summer of 2011, police spokesman Sid Robinson said.
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A few more details would have been nice. I see yellow journalism is alive and well. Moral to this story, don't fight with an armed officer(s).
Simply one more example of "death by cop." It used to mean a suicide but these days it means another cop used lethal force instead. Time to arm ourselves as you are more likely to die from a bullet from a cop, than you are to die in an automobile accident! Cops are not here to protect us anymore. They use us a target practice!
With all due respect, but ummmmm, statistics of vehicular deaths vs. Individuals who die at the hands of law enforcement in any given year do not support or even come close to supporting your statement.
Doubtful...
I'm not agreeing as I don't agree with your aertions, but notice the Nat'l order of police never release numbers publicly of how many "suspects" are killed each year by police? is that not just odd? I mean car crashes, dui deaths, cancer, ect. are all shoved down our throats thru billboards ad's ect. but not the number of people killed by police nation wide.
Bad Carma, what's black behavior?
Who said this had anything to do with color at all. People like you make me sad for our future. Sad indeed.
#you SMS...If you are referring to my comment, It was originally a reply to a post implying that big black cops killed a white student and would not be held responsible!
what's "Carma?"
Not sure what you're talking about but it's "Karma" with a K you dingbat
It's Karma, dummy.
its Karma not Carma
Sadly it is often violent.
Why a law abiding citizen would fight with an on duty police officer?
If you spit on them it's assault on an officer. Pull your arm away and it's assault on an officer. That a cop says he was assaulting an officer doesn't mean he was. The cops definition of assault is different than the civilians, and the dictionaries for that matter.
Purple Punch
I did not know their was a definition of assault for police officers. I consulted Webster and I was not able to find anything under that was just for police officers and assault pls post reference of the definition assault as defined by police officers
You just have to be there, to know what happened. There will be an Investigation.
Idiotic comment. And the California University police are a very well trained and funded professional organization. I'm not saying they were right or wrong because I wasn't there, but neither were you. You probably have a better chance of getting abused in some small town Barney Fife police force than by these guys.
Sorry true bob, but I was raised and came of age in a little town with a "barney fife" police force. Your comment was so far off base that it makes your words look very ignorant.
Oh you mean like the California university cop in berkley that pepper sprayed kids for sitting on a sidewalk in their own quad? the same cop that was later fired for excessive force? Yeah that is some great training.
Well since the last person that dealt with them was killed I don't think you're right.
Since the last person to deal with them was killed I think you should rethink your statement.
..and you know how well they are trained...exactly how?
What makes you think campus police are well trained? Were the pepper spray dousing police that got sued well trained?
They are not trained correctly
Cops are so stupid.
I agree with drunkenmom. They are overpaid uneducated little sizes with bigger egos. They probably instigated his reaction .
Those who disobey armed cops are the stupid ones. I belive 95% of cops are borderline psychotic, but that's all the more reason to avoid a confrontation and do what you told.
Have a drink. It's almost 9am and you are overdue.
Hey freedom. You realize they make about $45,000 a year right? You call THAT overpaid? And like it or not, you need them so get over it. I think the warden needs you to get off the computer now. And Mom, you're back trolling I see.
These are all of the "facts" we can expect at this time, b/c in the haste to be "first" news outlets compromise quality, accuracy and perspective. However, we as free thinking readers need to use and reserve judgement lest we promulgate and become an unsuspecting participant of "yellow journalism."
Really? a 38 year old grad student? Majoring in "educational instuctional technology"? REALLY?????? he had other issues besdies being a big kid.
I mean, is that REALLY a major? Sounds like a dotorate in agricutural journalism.
Really? I'm so sick of this "Really" trend...Really.
Relay, tell us how you really feel.
I bet he was black. Police only shoot black people, really It's true I read it on the intetweb. Really I did
Thank you!!!
new name for school librarian.
My sister got her masters in that. Got paid a 6 figure income flying around the country teaching teachers how to integrate technology into their classrooms.
umm overpaid. Firefigters do more for a lot less.
Yeah and the education of our students is going oh so well, then why are we ranked pretty low with other developed nations in education if we have all this technology in the classrooms?
Yeah, that's it! Education should fall into your prescribed age limitation.
Signed,
A 30 year old college freshman (who, also, happens to have a career)
Cool!
You live on campus in a dorm with other 18 year old freshman sharing a room? Hmmmm!
Sweet good times if it's especially if it's coed your the coolest cat ah you jealous your tellitubbie I mean wife will not let you live in a dorm I'm sure you don't want people looking into how you lived your life after getting killed by a cop
Does working at Mc Donalds count?
Spot on JD. Gotta love the cynical, accusatory, and outright dumb comments aimed at someone who was just murdered.
Instructional technology is one of the largest and most in demand degrees around.
Apparently the most dangerous too!
Just another "fake" degree IT and basket weaving are just few more. Instructional technology fields are in "demand" because of the push to modernize the way the teachers run the classroom. Most of these Instructional technology degree holders go around the country duping the schools system into a over priced contract that give instruction block to the teachers that tell them to use the internet in the classroom and the wounder why the schools system across the nation are broke.
@BG: I'm not clear on what your comments mean. What's wrong with these college majors?
Since we don't know any details, also the possibility could be his previous career went out the window with bad times and he was changing career. And wouldn't a tazer have done a satisfactory job in subduing him? (Here we go again...."I felt threatened". so I killed him)
If you ever have to call 911 I hope they hang up on you.
There are no details in this report. Unless you have walked a mile in their shoes don't be in such a rush to judge. I have. There are so many possibilities here that I can't even begin. Was he under the influence of something? Was he in a psychotic break? Who knows? People in these states do not feel pain at all so none of those less lethal tools work-period. Also because of their state of mind you can not reason with them what so ever. You are left with essentially no options, especially if the person is in the process of hurting someone. Tragic but unavoidable in some situations. Lets just wait and see what happened.
these campus police at best should be in tandem teams, with a senior officer. and yes a taser gun would have been adequate. Remember the kid in Oakland got shot face down prone on the cement at a BART station??
Agree w/ using a tazer instead of a gun!
An idiotic comment on every level. A student can be of any age, and 38 year old graduate students are not unusual anywhere in the country. Many professionals go back to school to earn advanced degrees. The degree itself is a substantive and important one, as any educator or technology professional could tell you. But it sounds like you come from a limited educational background yourself, so what's the use?
Agreed..
Only kids begin a statement with the word "really?". If you try to criticize someone for going to college to improve their lives, at least demonstrate that you have higher intellect.
LOL, I just found this in another CNN article:
" Really? If someone needed more information to know that security there had deteriorated beyond the point of safety, they weren't waiting for warning - they were waiting for someone to die."
This is in an opinion piece written by Gen. Michael Hayden, former Director of the CIA.
YOU are criticizing someone's DOTORATE?
You do realize that he could have just been a MA student. Both MA and PhD candidates are referred to as grad students.
Hey, SOMEBODY has to learn how to clean the erasers and sharpen pencils...
Educational instruction technology is the future of education. Just because you can't wrap your head around the fact that the world is changing doesn't mean that others aren't already looking to profit from it.
BG, given the fact that technology is developing so rapidly AND that teachers aren't equipped to keep pace with how to utilize these technologies – the field of educational technology is fast rising. Ever hear of LeapFrog? Yea, the billion dollar educational technology company. Your ignorance is very apparent. Learn before you speak about a topic you know nothing about.
I see.So 38 year old college students had better realize that they are expendable? Especially if they are studying something that you deem irrelevant? Could the problem be in that you are simply demeaning a field that you know absolutely nothing about?
Good grief. Have some compassion: The guy is dead and his major is not important to him – or anyone else – at this time.
Yes, it really is, and an important field at that. Are you familiar with computers, ipads, smartboards, and other technologies being used in the classroom today? Perhaps you should do your research before making a comment like that.
I guess you missed the fact that people get paid $100K+ a year in that field... there are probably a lot of lucrative fields you don't know about. But go ahead and make fun of what you don't understand.
Yes, really. Anyone who knows anything about education knows that a degree in educational instructional technology will lead to cash.
There are lots of former teachers who don't want to be poor and crapped on by society so they go back to school to make money and be appreciated. Really.
And really? Are you an SNL fan or a valley girl?
And there are more current teachers who work Til they obtain tenure then tell thier students "it's not my job to teach, I have tenure"....the system is so broken on every level it is downright falling apart around us, hope you
Are ready
Ever hear of "non-traditional student?" Or, better yet, "Grad student?" Clearly you've never been to college or any kind of continuing educational facility. REALLY.
Based upon your spelling of the word 'instructional' I'd say we needed this man and this program more than ever.
thats actually a somewhat popular major
Shouldn't you be cleaning a table somewhere?
This is your concern? Why he was going to college? You missed the mark entirely. And what is your degree in that makes you so royally high and mighty Mr. Pretentious?
sure why not... The iPad, Internet, iPhone, and countless of other technologies have become or are becoming educational tools. So educational systems based on these technologies need to be developed.
You are obviously not a graduate student; if you were you would understand the importance of studying and researching such things. Do not mock what you do not understand.
IT's TECHNOLOGY not agriculture. And you make fun.
What a dumb comment. I got my MBA at 40. Does that make me a big kid or someone that continues his education?
Who cares if he was 38 going to school as a graduate student? Why assume he has problems? Why assume the cops are at fault? Why assume he attacked anyone?
Nobody knows except the people who were there. This guy died as a result. No matter what way you slice it, it's a darn shame and I wish that it had never happened.
Prayers going out to the family and friends of all those affected.
Sorry you bombed defending your thesis
That is a real major. It's focused on instructional videos, photography, and animation and how to use those as effective teaching tools.
Yes, this really is a major. Because it involves technology, I am sure it is WAY over your head, since you asked the question. Duh.
What's the point of this comment? That he had mental issues because his course of study was unimpressive? So he deserved to die? Think about what you are saying for a change.
College kid? He was 38. Hardly qualifies as a kid
Where in the article did they call him a "kid"?
I believe the term was graduate student
And thus it was justifiable homicide. If he was 23, then no...
38 yo grad students are known to be unstable. Like rabid pit bulls. Shoot them at every opportunity.
Whoa!
You might need some schoolin' there yerself buckshot.
Read the headline again and ask someone what a graduate student is.
Amen !
I'm a 51 year old college STUDENT. Whatever your age bias may be, college is not restricted to the teens and twenties.
One standard truth rises above all others in general: like an earlier post said, if you are interested in celebrating more birthdays on this earth, it is probably never a good idea to tangle, incite, intimidate, threaten or posture with anybody who has a handgun at their hip! I am confident law enforcement did NOT just walk into the dorm, guns drawn and cap 8 shots into the student. Here enter the truth... And here endeth the lesson.
"I am confident law enforcement did NOT just walk into the dorm, guns drawn and cap 8 shots into the student."
Now if the shooting had in New York City......He may have just been going for his wallet to show ID.
Why were those dimwitted cops afraid for their lives?...because Williams was black? Those men belong in jail, not patrolling our streets.
Well said.
You have no idea what actually happened. You also have no idea about the race of the officers involved. Actually you have no idea about anything except jumping to conclusions.
You seem to have the brain the size of a small walnut, and the critical thinking skills of a rotting potato.
Did I miss something in the story that stated the student was black? I went over it again and again and I haven't seen anything to indicate that.
Way too many streetpunks have some kind of ego involvement, like they are the ones to propose standards of ethics and conduct to the point of streetfights and killing. Stop pontificating, and create peaceful conduct.
Two against one and they feared for their lives?
Police need to realize it is "okay" to retreat to safer ground besides using their trigger death card all the time – so much for critical thinking skills.
Get ready for more riots when these two college campus cops are cleared of murder.
Agreed. Why couldn't they have spent an extra couple hours talking him down and letting him speak his case. Given more time he probably would have gone peacefully. They simply had to arrest him then and there and couldn't possibly give the situation more time to cool down?
Who cares it's California
Sounds like he should have majored in Anger Management.