ETOWAH COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) -- We’re learning more about the man who was shot and killed by police in Etowah County last week. Ian Sullivan’s friends and family say he was a decorated war veteran with over 20 years of service.
"The saddest part of it all is I don't want people to be remember him for this particular event," Sullivan's wife Christina said.
Christina says it was a call she never expected: Her husband shot and killed by police in their driveway while she was out-of-town on a travel nurse assignment.
“I don’t even know how to describe it," she said. "It’s really just an indescribable event.”
Christina and her husband Ian had been together for 15 years and had a 12-year-old son, Logan, together. She says Sullivan often called Logan his best friend.
"Logan is his legacy," she said. "The more important stuff, the sense of humor and the loyalty and just the general integrity and honesty he has in general, that is his biggest legacy.”
Sullivan had a long career serving his country, from time in the Marine Corps, to being a sheriff’s deputy in California, to serving in the Army Special Forces. Altogether, his time spent in the military totals to 22.5 years.
"The ideal soldier. You know, a soldier that other soldiers look up to and want to become,” Adam Volkerding, who served with Sullivan in 2nd Airborne Division for 3 years, said.
"Of course, as young men there was fear, right, of being in war. But he just had a way of making everybody feel calm and good about what was going on even though that everything that was going on wasn’t so good,” Troy Seeger, who served with Sullivan in 2nd Airborne Division for 2.5 years, said.
Sullivan’s death has left many in the Special Forces community not only heartbroken but angered.
“I’m still in shock it even escalated to that point with him. It’s totally out of character for that dude," Jose Ramirez, who served with Sullivan in 5th Group Special Forces, said. "Where’s the additional backup? Why is it only one officer?”
"Basically survive all of the things he survived and then come back to the United States and meet his end, it’s disturbing,” Troy Hilderbrand, Sullivan's platoon sergeant in the Iraq invasion, said. “What I did not want to have happen was him to be demonized because the guy was a patriot, in word and deed, and whatever decision he made on that fateful day does not reflect who he is.”
The Special Forces community from around the country is calling for transparency from the Sardis Police Department and Etowah County Sheriff’s Office.
"What we do in our community is we immediately look for answers," Barry O’Neill, who served with Sullivan in 5th Group Special Forces, said. "It doesn’t matter whether we’re still active or not. If something happens to one of us, it happens to all of us, especially with somebody like Sully.”
"He’s not the overly aggressive type that loses self-control," Jay Hasenbein, who served with Sullivan in 5th Group Special Forces, said. "There’s more to the story, there’s other stuff out there and we’re going to get to the bottom of it. Bottom line is we want answers, the family needs answers and we want to see the body cam.”
Christina says Sullivan did experience PTSD that seemed to intensify after he retired, but she says Sullivan was getting help for it.
"Everything was a security-type situation for him and in his mind, he was like ‘what do I need to do to protect what’s mine and my family?' and all of that,” she said.
A memorial bonfire will be held by Sullivan's family and friends to remember his life.
“I have a lot of questions and I don’t like not having answers and so I’m trying to present as much as I can and I have to be somewhat transparent with a 12-year-old given it was public initially, right away, and then some people, school, everybody kind of knows things so I can’t afford to, I want him to hear things from me first," Christina said. "We’ll never have a why, unfortunately, because he’s gone.”
When CBS 42 first reported on the police shooting of Sullivan we interviewed both the Sardis Police Chief and Etowah County Sheriff, although they declined an on camera interview this week.
The sheriff's office did say the release of body camera footage is up to the Sardis Police Department. Sardis Police Chief William Alexander has not responded to our question on if he will release the video.
You can read our previous reporting on this case here.