Knife-wielding man shot dead by Manatee deputy had history of depression, family says
BRADENTON -- The man shot dead when he came at a Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputy with a knife had a history of depression and suicidal tendencies, according to family.
At about 4:50 p.m. Sunday, Marc Stoddart's wife, Donna, called 911 to report he had been drinking, was armed with a knife and threatening to harm himself and her.
By the time deputies arrived at the home in the 4800 block of Bookelia Circle in Bradenton, she had managed to escape and he was out front holding the knife and had already cut his wrists.
After refusing deputy commands to drop the knife, Stoddart, 50, threatened a deputy with the knife. He was shot dead.
The deputy's name has not yet been release by the sheriff's office.
Sheriff's office spokesman Dave Bristow said the shooting remains under investigation and officials want to give the deputy a few days since it is such a traumatic experience.
Stoddart, who would have turned 51 next week, had a history of depression and suicidal tendencies, said his niece, Isabella Stoddart.
"That morning of Valentine's Day, he called his parents, my grandparents," she said. "He was suicidal. He didn't know what else to do."
Her uncle did not regularly see a psychiatrist or psychologist, she said, but was taking medication.
"He talked to people mostly in the family," she said. "This was very out of character. The whole family is so destroyed."
Most of the family lives in New Jersey, she said, and came together after getting the news to have a "big crying session," she said.
"He would never hurt anyone. ... This was so random," she said.
She said the family doesn't understand why deputies couldn't have just used a Taser or Mace instead of shooting him when he came at the deputy with a knife.
Law enforcement officers in the United States are usually trained to shoot to kill, however, not shoot to wound.
The sheriff's office was unaware of Stoddard's history of depression, Bristow said.
Jessica De Leon, Herald law enforcement reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7049. You can follow her on Twitter@JDeLeon1012.
This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 11:39 PM with the headline "Knife-wielding man shot dead by Manatee deputy had history of depression, family says ."