Fatal shooting of mentally ill man under investigation

The victim was being taken to a psychiatric center.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- A deputy sheriff shot and killed a knife-wielding African immigrant who lunged at officers who had come to take him to a psychiatric center, authorities said.
An angry crowd gathered in the northeast Columbus neighborhood Wednesday after the shooting of Nair Abdi, 23, an immigrant from Somalia whose family said he had stopped taking his medication and had become delusional. Four Franklin County deputies had been sent to his home under a court order.
Abdi was smoking on the sidewalk as the officers, two in plain clothes and two in uniform, approached. He immediately took out a knife, prompting uniformed deputy Mike Wiley to spray him with Mace, which didn't stop Abdi, said Lt. Brent Mull, a Columbus police spokesman.
"Mr. Abdi then made violent slashes at the deputies," and deputy Jason Evans, also in uniform, shot him, according to a police news release.
Fatal wound
Abdi died of a gunshot wound to the torso, Franklin County Coroner Brad Lewis said Thursday.
Police called to the scene were confronted by members of the crowd screaming, "cold-blooded killers!" More officers had to be summoned to help break up the crowd.
"They could have wounded him," said Liban Abdi, the victim's brother. "They could have shot him in the leg, in the arm, anything else."
The four deputies were placed on leave pending an investigation, standard procedure for a police shooting. Mull said it appeared they took the right steps in trying to get Abdi to surrender before using force.
The police department, which is investigating the shooting, deferred questions on what other nonlethal weapons deputies carry to the sheriff's office. Officials there did not respond to a message seeking comment Thursday.
Evans is a seven-year veteran, and Wiley has eight years of service.
Danger to others
An order for Abdi to be taken to a psychiatric center had been issued Wednesday after a health-care worker said he was "a danger to himself or others," said William Reddington, chief magistrate of Franklin County Probate Court.
Abdi started showing signs of mental illness after his family immigrated to the United States in 1999, his brother said.
"He would say the television was made by the devil, cars were made by the devil," Liban Abdi said.
Nair Abdi spent six months in the hospital earlier this year but had stopped taking medication after complaining that it made him feel weak and sleepy, his brother said.
More than 1,500 Ohio officers have taken a training course on dealing with mentally ill people that teaches officers the best methods for calming down an agitated person. The program was developed five years ago and has been copied by law enforcement agencies around the country.
Ohio also has 27 courts that exclusively handle cases involving the mentally ill, the most in the nation.