Family Outraged After Killing by Officer

There are some things Christene Buck said she will never forget: begging Long Beach police officers to leave her son alone, watching in disbelief as one officer pulled out a gun, hearing the popping sound of shots, seeing the smoke from the gun.

As she cradled her dying son in her arms, Buck said she told Officer Edward Tolley: “My God, what did you do?”

Tolley shot James R. Buck, 31, in the foyer of Christene and Terry Buck’s home May 6. Police said Tolley shot the young man because he feared for the safety of his partner, Officer Richard Austin. But Buck’s parents argue that their son was not threatening the officers and that, when Tolley fired the shots, Austin was holding James Buck down.

“My son was shot twice in the chest and once in the abdomen. I knew he was dying. I said to (the officers): ‘Our son is dying. This is a bad shooting and you know it.’ They didn’t answer,” said Terry Buck, James’ stepfather.

The shooting that devastated the Buck family came after a family dispute over James’ potbellied pigs. James Buck’s landlord had told him he would have to find a new home for the nine pigs he was keeping in his Belmont Heights apartment. James was angry with his stepfather for not allowing him to keep his pigs in their oceanfront home.

“He was upset he couldn’t have the pigs stay here. He thought he was trying so hard, and he wasn’t getting a break. He was hurt,” said his mother, explaining that her son’s condition was diagnosed as manic-depressive last year and that he had gotten a couple of potbellied pigs, Honey and Lacy, to keep him company, and others to sell.

When the younger Buck arrived at his parents home that night, he and his stepfather began arguing over the pigs. Christene Buck said she became nervous and telephoned police.

“I called the police to help,” Christene Buck said. “They’re trained to come in and stop a family dispute. They could have talked to him. They could have used a stun gun. They could have used Mace.”

According to police, when Tolley and Austin arrived at the Buck home about 9:30 p.m. on May 6, James Buck partially opened the front door and angrily told them they could not come in. The officers were worried about others in the household and stopped Buck from closing the door.

During a confrontation, Buck exhibited “exceptional strength and was able to take Officer Tolley’s flashlight and baton away from him and use them as weapons against the officers,” according to a statement by homicide Sgt. Bob Bell.

Police reported that Buck struck Austin with the baton in the upper torso and “appeared as though he was going to attempt to strike Officer Austin in the head.” After Buck ignored Tolley’s orders, the officer--fearing for his partner’s safety--shot him.

The Bucks’ version of what happened is significantly different. They said they never saw their son holding a baton or flashlight.

Christene Buck was just getting off the phone with a 911 dispatcher and could hear her son arguing with the officers, demanding to see a search warrant.

“As I got downstairs, I could see my son face down, his hands were behind his back. One officer was beating him with a black stick,” she said.

The officers pulled Buck up and attempted to “shove him out the door, but Jimmy had his foot by the door and he was resisting,” Christene Buck said. Within minutes, their son was back on the ground, face up, she said. Austin was holding his arms and Tolley was holding his feet, according to the Bucks. “Jimmy was trying to break away. I remember screaming (to the officers), ‘Please stop this!’ ”

When Terry Buck came downstairs, he saw the two officers holding James Buck down. Tolley then pulled away, took out his gun and said: “I’m going to shoot,” according to the Bucks.

“At this point, we’re both screaming at the officers,” Terry Buck said.

Christene Buck had never heard real gunshots before. “I didn’t think it was a gun. . . . . I saw the smoke . . . that officer, the rage in his face.” And then, as she cradled her son, she saw the blood.

Austin looked as if he were “in complete shock,” Terry Buck said. Austin was holding down James Buck’s arms and “had Tolley shot high, he would have hit (his partner),” Terry Buck said.

Tolley, a 10-year veteran of the department, was placed on administrative leave for two days after the shooting and has been assigned a desk job while the shooting is under investigation, said Detective Logan Wren.

Detectives, a police shooting board and the district attorney’s office are conducting the investigation.

Neither Tolley nor Austin, who joined the department a year ago after serving as a reserve officer for seven years, could be reached for comment.

A baton was lying on the floor when a supervisor arrived at the Buck home moments after the shooting, Wren said. The nightstick was checked for fingerprints, but there were none, Wren said. The flashlight had a fingerprint, but it was impossible to identify it, Wren said.

The Bucks said they want authorities to charge Tolley with murder.

“We just want this officer to never be a policeman again,” Christene Buck said.