'Shoot Me I Want To Die', Man Tells Manchester Police Before Fatal Shooting

MANCHESTER, NJ — A Manchester Township man repeatedly told police to shoot him and that he expected to die during a standoff in December that ended with his death, video of the incident released Wednesday shows.

"There's one way out of here," Shannon Rose told Manchester police during the 22-minute, 30-second standoff on Dec. 5, 2023, where he repeatedly asked police to kill him, the video from the bodyworn camera of one of the officers shows.

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office released the bodyworn camera video on Wednesday, along with the audio of two 911 calls, one from Rose's wife, and one from a neighbor who saw authorities trying to talk to Rose.

"The recordings are being released pursuant to policies established by the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 to promote the fair, impartial, and transparent investigation of fatal police encounters," the Attorney General's office said. "Investigators previously met with representatives of Mr. Rose’s family to review the recordings."

The shooting remains under investigation, the Attorney General's office said.

Preliminary information in the investigation shows Manchester police responded to a 911 call from Rose's wife at 8:28 p.m., where she reported Rose, 39, was in distress and threatening to take his life, according to authorities and the audio of her 911 call.

She told police he had taken a semiautomatic rifle from the gun safe in their home and that he was intoxicated, but did not know how long he had been drinking as she had arrived home from work to find him in that state.

"He's talking about hurting himself," Rose's wife tells the dispatcher. "He's talking about provoking them so they will shoot him."

"Please don't shoot him," she says. "Please don't shoot him."

Manchester police found Rose in a wooded area on Elizabeth Avenue at about 9:10 p.m., authorities said, and for more than 22 minutes tried to convince him to put down the rifle.

"Their repeated requests to drop the weapon were unsuccessful," the Attorney General's Office said. "Manchester Police Officers Nicholas Greenwood and Michael Anderson discharged their firearms, striking Mr. Rose. Authorities recovered a firearm near Mr. Rose, who was later pronounced deceased."

In the video of the incident, Rose demands to talk with several people, including his father. He asks to speak with his wife, but at one point later says she hates him. Parts of the audio have been redacted to protect the family's privacy, but it is clear he is very upset.

"Shoot me I want to die," Rose says at one point, and one of the officers says, "We don't want to do that. We want to get you some help."

"I want to tell my father I love him," Rose says. "We want you to tell your father what you want to tell him in person," the officer replies.

After several minutes of Rose yelling at the officers, they again try to get him to calm down and take the rifle off his body.

"C'mon man, I'm here to listen to you. I will listen to you all night," the officer says. "We don't want this."

Rose tells them he's going to remove the ammunition clip, and he lifts the barrel of the rifle and the ammunition clip is seen falling to the ground.

The lead officer asks whether Rose chambered a round and Rose denies it, but lifts the barrel of the rifle again, at which point officers fire.

The 22-minute, 45-second video can be viewed here. Warning: It may be disturbing to some viewers.

The rifle was recovered next to Rose, but authorities have not said whether there was a bullet in the chamber.

"(State law) requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved," authorities said, adding no additional information was being released at this time.