Sword-wielding man was son of embattled officer

Associated Press

SEATTLE — A man shot to death by police as he brandished a sword after fleeing from a traffic stop is the son of a former police officer in Georgia who resigned after being accused of bribery.

Shawn Jerel Maxwell, 31, shot to death Monday after stun guns failed to subdue him, had a record that included speeding away from a police stop in Savannah, Ga., and dragging an officer behind his car 13 years ago, authorities said.

He also was named in two domestic dispute complaints in Chatham County, Ga.

The death of Maxwell, an Air Force veteran and sculptor who came to Seattle in April to look for work, doesn’t add up, said his parents, Lisa and James Maxwell, a former police corporal in Savannah.

"There’s just too many loopholes in this fabricated story," the father said.

"He was a loving, kind person who went out there to Seattle to grow," the mother said, "but they just killed him like a dog in the street."

Officers Brett Rogers, 32, and Stanley Austin Streubel, 23, are on administrative leave pending an investigation by a police shootings review board, a standard procedure.

Police chief Gil Kerlikowske commended them, saying they "did an awful lot to try to disarm" Maxwell, who apparently had been living in his car.

Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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