Man killed by police opposed child

SEATTLE - Seattle police officers shot and killed a Seattle man who was holding what turned out to be an inert grenade in the lobby of the new Federal Courthouse in downtown Seattle. He has been identified as Perry L. Manley, an outspoken critic of the court system.

Manley was well-known to courthouse security guards. Court records indicated his wages had been garnished in a child support case. He had also been interviewed in at least one local newspaper and had e-mailed KING 5 News protesting the child support system.

Police were searching his apartment on Western Avenue in downtown Seattle Monday evening.

Manley was from Seattle, born in 1952, and "often frequented the courthouse as well as the federal building," said U.S. Marshal Eric Robertson, adding he had a "disdain" for the federal government and its policies.

At an afternoon press conference, Robertson said Manley came into the courthouse at about 11:48 a.m. and tried to get around the security screening area.

Courthouse security ordered him to stop. He held out the grenade for the officers to see and they launched an emergency evacuation of the building. They called in Seattle Police for assistance.

"With their expert help, we cordoned him off so he could not enter into the secure portion of the building. An officer with a .223 as well as one with a shotgun took aim on him," Robertson said. After 25 minutes of trying to get Manley to put down the grenade, "he made a furtive movement with the grenade and at that point the officers had no choice but to stop the threat."

KING

Perry Manley often staged public, one-man protests.

"He went down with the grenade in his hand. At that time he was continuing to cup the grenade," Robertson explained. "And we called for the Seattle Police Bomb Squad to come in to disarm and make safe that grenade...Also if you recall I said that he had a backpack on. We did not know at that point what was in the backpack, if there were additional explosives or anything that could harm an emercency service worker or a law enforcement officer."

Emergency medical workers were not allowed to approach the body until the bomb squad could ensure their safety.

Members of the bomb squad searched the backpack found a cutting board inside it, as well as a living will. Of the significance of the cutting board, Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske could only speculate, but living will did raise for him the specter of this being a case of "suicide by police."

A woman cleaning windows in the lobby saw the man enter the building. He was acting oddly, she said. "Usually you don't wear a backpack in front of you." He drew the attention of security officials when he tried to sneak around the security gate.

She described what happened next when they told him to stop. He responded, "don't come near me don't come near me, I'll blow it up!" "Don't come near me, don't come near me! Stay away, stay away!" she said he yelled.

Chay Adams told the station that she saw police shoot Manley. "He was agitated and he kept moving his hands," Adams said, who said the man had been sitting on a bench with a yellow backpack.

At least two shots were heard on videotape made during the ordeal. "Suspect now shot, suspect now shot," was heard being announced by an officer over a radio.

Slightly more than two hours after it began, Seattle police spokeswoman, Carmen Best, said he was dead.

KING

Susan Calhoun was married to Manley 15 years ago.

Perry Manley split with his family living on the Kitsap peninsula15 years ago. He was no longer required to make support payments to his now-grown children, but his family said he was never able to put the bitterness behind him.

His ex-wife Susan Calhoun said “he just still had issues, he was still really bitter.”

She said the problems started soon after their 1990 divorce, when a court ordered support payments for their three children.

Calhoun said Manley angrily quit his high-paying job to spite his family and the court.

“It was a power struggle, I think, he didn’t want anybody to tell him what to do with his money,” she said.

Calhoun thinks the tragic event was a final swipe at the courts and his children.

KING

A police officer aims a rifle at the Federal Courthouse in Seattle after a man making threats was shot by police.

“I think he was really mean because his son’s birthday was on Friday and his daughter’s wedding is coming up.”

Calhoun said Manley always claimed he was denied visitation and access to his children but his family said that wasn’t true and that the daughter visited him just six months ago.

Manley’s friend Tom Swanson said Manley was willing to die for what he believed in but said: “Perry never wanted to hurt anybody, he wanted to get attention.”

“I had the feeling the last time we were down at the federal courthouse with the flag-burning ceremony there was a certain amount of premeditation, that he was willing to die for what he believed in.”

Manley was under investigation by the FBI for threats against U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly who had repeatedly denied his requests to bring a state case, possibly related to 'deadbeat dad' child support payments up to the federal level.

He e-mailed KING TV a few weeks ago saying he planned to burn a flag on the steps of the courthouse. In his note he also wrote:

"25 Million U.S. Citizens called "NONCUSTODIAL PARENTS," are impoverished and imprisoned by the government without the authority or the power. The government denies these second class parents the democratic rights we fight for in other countries.

Child support is illegal, unlawful, and unconstitutional. It violates five basic elements of our Bill of Rights; that being life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, due process, and equal protection under the law. Peonage, seizure of property, coercion, threats of fear and intimidation are illegal, unlawful, and unconstitutional. How many children, grandparents, and parents must suffer before you reveal the truth to America?

Many are suffering, commit suicide, live underground, or are imprisoned. The time for oppression is coming to an end.This must STOP now!"

Police blocked off 8th and 9th Streets from Virginia to Stewart while the drama unfolded. The streets were reopened at around 2 p.m.

Several people in the building told KING5 News police escorted them down the stairs and out of the building.

KING

The Federal Courthouse in Seattle was locked down after a man entered the building with at least one weapon.

"We were notified that there was an incident in the building and the marshals would like for us to evacuate the courthouse," said a woman who is an administrative assistant in the building.

"We were pretty calm. The marshals do an excellent job and were able to get everybody out of the building," said another woman.

Robertson said the entire 23-story federal building was evacuated, but some employees were allowed to return while the bomb squad worked.

The new federal courthouse opened last August. Many of the major security features of the $171 million high-rise at Seventh Avenue and Stewart Street are disguised. Even glass walls that permit ample sunlight are blast-resistant.

The new courthouse houses the U.S. Marshals Service, judges, support staff and court clerks, as well as the U.S. Attorney's Office, bankruptcy courts, and probation and pretrial services.

KING

It holds 13 district courtrooms, five bankruptcy courtrooms, and 22 suites for judges and their staff. Secure hallways lead from cell blocks into the courtrooms, so prisoners don't contact the public - unlike in the old building.

"The security plant that we have in place worked. The lobby is … outside of the underneath of the structure. There is a design in place to where if someone did come in with an explosive it should not affect the foundation structure of the building," Robertson said.

KING5's Linda Byron, Jim Forman, Tim Robinson, Deborah Feldman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.