Man Shot by Officer Tried Ploy Before, Police Report

A 46-year-old transient wounded by a Glendale policeman Monday after allegedly brandishing a toy gun had attempted to draw gunfire from the police at least once before, Glendale authorities said this week.

The shooting victim, Gerald Lee Hammons, appeared “hell-bent on self-destruction and wanted someone else to do it for him,” Glendale police spokesman Christopher Loop said.

Loop said Hammons was shot once in the left arm after he confronted two officers in a parking lot of police headquarters Monday evening and told them, “I’m going to make you shoot me.”

Plastic Replica

Hammons allegedly told officers that an object he was carrying partly hidden under a brown bag was a gun. He was shot after he ignored orders to drop the gun and instead raised his arm toward one of the officers, police said. The object turned out to be a plastic replica of a revolver.

Hammons was treated for a fractured arm at Glendale Adventist Medical Center and was transferred to the jail ward at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he was listed in satisfactory condition.

Police said they may seek charges of assault and interference with an officer against Hammons.

Loop said Hammons was involved in a similar incident in October at Burbank police headquarters.

Held for Evaluation

He allegedly confronted officers in the parking lot with a plastic replica of a handgun concealed by a towel. The officers were able to subdue him, and he was taken to Olive View Hospital for evaluation, Loop said. No charges were filed.

After Monday’s shooting, investigators said, they found a suicide note on the front seat of Hammons’ pickup truck, which was parked near the police lot.

Hammons reportedly told a detective at the hospital that he had been despondent since the death of his father in 1985 and had recently been under psychiatric care.

State records indicate that Hammons had lived in Tujunga, but police said he has been staying at motels for a year or more.