Mother of man shot in wheelchair arrested

The mother of a man in a wheelchair who was killed by police officers last week was arrested and charged with assault and threatening a woman she believed placed a 911 call saying a man had shot himself.

Phyllis McDole, 48, of Wilmington, surrendered to city police Monday and was released on $10,000 bail. She was charged with second-degree burglary, terroristic threatening, third-degree assault and third-degree conspiracy.

Police say McDole, accompanied by five unidentified people, three women and two men, went to the woman’s home on Lancaster Avenue Friday between 7:30 and 8 p.m., punching and threatening the woman after she answered the front door.

According to court documents, as McDole punched the resident, she said, “Bitch, you got my son killed. You are the one that called the cops. You got my son shot and you gonna die like my son died.”

Police said the victim assaulted was not the woman who made the 911 call on the day McDole’s son was shot. The woman suffered two black eyes, a small scratch, swelling on her hand and a cut lip.

The mother of the victim told police that the next day, Saturday morning, people came to the house again and said, “We gonna come back tonight and kill you.” The victim was not at home.

It was after that second visit, police said, that the woman reported the incidents to police, who responded. It is unclear, nor would police say what, if any, protection was offered or provided to the victim between the time the incidents were reported and when McDole surrended to police Monday night.

“We afforded her the opportunity to turn herself in,” Wilmington Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Andrea Janvier said of McDole. “We have empathy for the situation everybody is involved in. We understand that it is an emotional time.”

Assaults on those cooperating with police “will not be tolerated,” she said.

The people who were with McDole at the time of the assault still are sought by police, Janvier said.

“Intimidation or assaults on those cooperating with the police and innocent victims will not be tolerated,” said city spokeswoman Alexandra Coppadge. “The many recent arrests and significantly increased homicide clearance rate are attributed to strengthened police and community relations, as members of the community are now coming forward to take a stand against violent crime occurring in the City of Wilmington. It is important citizens continue to feel safe and comfortable coming forward, as the police department and other law enforcement agencies work to maintain this collaborative effort with the community.”

On Tuesday, three sources told The News Journal that a relative of Phyllis McDole was involved in a confrontation with a relative of the woman police say was beaten by McDole. As of Tuesday afternoon, no charges were filed in that incident.

Since the day after the shooting, McDole has disputed accounts that her son, Jeremy “Bam” McDole, was armed when he was shot by four police officers on Sept. 23. Phyllis McDole and other family members have pointed to a bystander video of the shooting posted on YouTube, saying a weapon is not visible in the footage.

Police released part of the 911 call late Friday in response to claims that McDole was not armed.

In the call, a woman, who was not named, can be heard asking for police and an ambulance to respond, saying an armed man in a wheelchair had shot himself and still had the gun.

Police responding to the 3 p.m. call found Jeremy McDole, 28, in the 1800 block of Tulip St., where they repeatedly told him to put down his weapon and raise his hands, according to Wilmington Police Chief Bobby Cummings. That can be seen and heard on the video.

Four officers opened fire after he reached for his waistband, Cummings said, and police later found a .38-caliber gun at McDole’s side. McDole, who lived at Hillside Center Nursing Home in the 800 block of S. Broom Street, was paralyzed from the waist down in a shooting about 10 years earlier.

Phyllis McDole has a criminal record dating back to 1985 when she was convicted of shoplifting and offensive touching. Since then, she has been convicted five times of varying degrees of assault.

She also was convicted of criminal impersonation in 2006 and possession of drugs in 2008.

She was most recently charged in March with harassment for confronting her ex-boyfriend at his home and hitting him. She had an outstanding warrant for not appearing to resolve those allegations.

Anyone with information about the identities of the assault suspects or information about the incident is asked to call Sgt. George Pigford at (302) 576-3674. Tips also may be given on the Wilmington Police Confidential Tip Line at (302) 576-3990 and through Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333 and www.tipsubmit.com.

New Castle County Councilman Jea P. Street has called for an independent federal investigation of the shooting by the U.S. Attorney General’s Office and the FBI. The state Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust is investigating the shooting, which is policy any time a police officer fires a weapon that injures or kills someone. The Wilmington Police Department is also investigating the incident.

Staff writer Robin brown contributed to this story. Contact Jenna Pizzi at (302) 324-2837 or jpizzi@delawareonline.com, follow her on Twitter @jennapizzi.