title:  Video Of Police Shooting 76-Year-Old Mentally Ill Man Released (VIDEO)
text: On March 21, 2016, 76-year-old Ralph  Phil  Grenon was shot and killed in his apartment by a Burlington, VT police officer. According to Grenon s family, he began showing signs of a mental illness about a month before his fatal encounter with police.Burlington police say that the manager of the apartment complex where Grenon lived called 911 earlier that evening to report that Grenon was exhibiting  threatening behavior. The Burlington Free Press reports that Grenon refused to respond to officers who were called out to the scene. A mental health expert was also brought to the scene, but five hours later he remained unresponsive inside of his apartment.According to the Free Press, officers say they were  unsure of Grenon s state.  For this reason they decided to enter the apartment.While Burlington police have released a significant amount of footage from the night that Grenon was killed, nearly all of it was released in a way that raises significant ethical questions, according to an article published by the Free Press on May 11.As reported here:Police released the videos by posting them on YouTube, but making them difficult for the public to find, following an announcement Tuesday by state and local prosecutors that Officer David Bowers, 23, was justified when he shot and killed Ralph  Phil  Grenon, 76, in March.Additionally, the Free Press reports that:The initial footage was released in an email to reporters Tuesday evening that contained links to the YouTube posts, which used privacy settings that prevented the videos from being searchable through Google or YouTube.University of Vermont media and communications law professor Chris Evans also criticized the way that police went about releasing the video, saying  they definitely did not fulfill the full request,  made by journalists. Evans also pointed out that they did not  follow the procedure they should have followed,  when releasing the video.The video below shows that Grenon was hiding in the shower when police entered the apartment. A group of officers can be seen aiming their weapons at the shower curtain. One officer uses a broom to pull the curtain back, exposing Grenon. At this point it becomes clear that Grenon is holding a knife.Almost as soon as the curtain is pulled back an officer uses a taser on the man. Grenon responds by leaping out of the shower. Shortly after this, officer Bowers opens fire, shooting Grenon multiple times. No other officers discharged their weapons.Watch the video below via YouTube:The Burlington Free Press provides links to additional video footage published by police here.According to both the prosecutor and the Attorney General, the shooting of Ralph  Phil  Grenon was justified.Grenon s daughter, Niki Grenon Carpenter, states that her father was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. During a press conference on May 10, she told reporters that she is frustrated with a system that continues to fail citizens who suffer from mental illness. Carpenter says that she hopes her father s death will help change that system.Image credit: video screen capture via Cops Caught On Tape on YouTube