Man Killed by Police Had History of Psychosis

A 69-year-old Los Angeles man, who was shot and killed Sunday by police in the Westlake district, had a history of psychosis and had recently learned his failing health had gotten worse, said an administrator at the retirement home where he lived.

Frank Monteleone--who allegedly threatened two Los Angeles police officers with a knife while he exclaimed, “Go ahead and shoot me. I have cancer anyway”--had been refusing sedative medicine for about two months, the administrator said.

Monteleone had been suffering from heart disease, glaucoma and an ulcer since he moved to the Grandview Retirement Home on 6th Street about a year ago, said Grandview director Charlene Prall. According to workers at the retirement home, a physician had told Monteleone about two weeks ago that he was suffering from cancer, Prall said. However, initial autopsy reports showed no sign of cancer, said Bob Dambacher of the county medical examiner’s office.