LT. Michael Buotte
Officer: Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, Lieutenant Michael Boutte
Date: 2/1/2021 Location: Necaise, MS FACTORS (1,2,4,7,15,18,19)
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Joseph Michael Rohrbacker
Criminal Activity History/Involved: Unknown./Yes, Rohrbacker recently molested a minor and had just slit a dog’s throat in front of young children.
Mental Illness: Yes, Rohrbacker’s wife stated, “he suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.”
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown./None stated.
Race/Sex/Age: White/Male/30
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At a little past 1 p.m. on February 1, 2021, Lt. Buotte responded to a house where the 911 caller stated a man, Joseph Rohrbacker was armed and threatening suicide.
Actions taken by subject toward police: Before Lt. Buotte even had a chance to get out of his vehicle upon arriving at the house; Rohrbacker shot and killed him with his 12-gauge shotgun.
Reactions by the police: A second responding deputy shot Rohrbacker who was then given medical attention and remains in jail.
How murdered? Lt. Buotte was ambushed upon arriving at the scene of a 911 call for an armed subject that was suicidal.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? Lt.Buotte could have stopped his patrol vehicle a few houses away and stealthily approached the incident location so he could have taken cover if he saw an armed person there.
Would the officer had been justified to use deadly force before being murdered? No, Lt. Buotte was never given the chance to defend himself.
Outcome for the cop-killer: Rohrbacker was taken into custody after the shooting and faces charges of capital murder, three counts of touching a child for lustful purposes, three counts of contributing to the delinquency of child and one count of animal cruelty and intimidating a witness.
Miscellaneous: Rohrbacker alleges he was just randomly firing his 12-gauge shotgun hoping for suicide by cop. He was upset that his brother reported him to Child Protective Services after finding out he had been molesting a teenage family member for the past few months.
