107-Year Old Man, Monroe Isadore Killed in Police Shootout

Neighbors of 107 year-old Monroe Isadore spoke in hushed and somber disbelief about the police killing of the elderly man. Pine Bluff, Arkansas authorities say Mr. Isadore fired at officers after a domestic incident at his home. A standoff ensued and police killed the centenarian during a shootout.

Residents in the area say Mr. Isadore wanted to continue living in his home. A discussion with family members about moving reportedly turned contentious. Over the weekend the police became involved.

Police say Mr. Isadore fired at officers after they removed two victims from the home. According to police, they placed a camera inside the house and saw Mr. Isadore was armed and sitting in a bedroom. Negotiations began and when officers entered the house and walked toward his bedroom, they say Mr. Isadore fired through the door. They returned fire, and he was killed.

In the neighborhood where Mr. Isadore lived for years, congregants at a nearby church talked about the circumstances surrounding his death and questioned the police decision to exchange gunfire with a 107 year-old man.

Gary Wilson described Mr. Isadore as being an “unusual 107 year-old man.” He recalled the vegetable garden Isadore raised for close to 90 years. “He drove his car until he was 104,” Wilson said. When the longtime churchgoer stopped driving, “the deacons arranged for the church van to pick him up on Sunday mornings.”

Wilson is a retired employee of the Arkansas Correctional Department. He and other residents questioned the police decision to engage Mr. Isadore in a shootout. “They should have stood down and allowed the situation to diffuse itself. I have seen SWAT teams communicate with white people for days on end.”

Authorities are not commenting on the case