Some of the intruders ran off as Lawless and two other officers stood outside. Jhmari C. McCoy tossed aside a St. Louis Cardinals ball cap that was concealing a stolen silver .357 Magnum revolver in his right hand. He ran past a rookie officer toward Lawless, who ordered him to the ground before shooting him twice, fatally injuring him.

Lawless was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in late 2010, divulged his condition the following April and took paid leave. His psychologist cleared him to return to work the following March with “reasonable accommodations,” meaning he could perform light duty such as working at the front desk, in the evidence room or providing security to the mayor.

But the city told him those assignments didn’t exist and he had exhausted his benefits. He was fired in May 2012. The only mark on Lawless’ work record was a written reprimand three weeks after the shooting for falling short of the department’s monthly quota of issuing 20 tickets and making 10 arrests.