There are several indications of deception in this story.

"Decide to go for a walk. Got out there. Um stood for a few moments and a received a page from home. Something was going on at home. Let's go back and make a phone call and see what's going on. Got approached by a gentleman asking for money. When I addressed him I was struck in the rear, knocked to the ground. Struggled with him. There was a shot that went off. Struggled with him and there was another shot that went off. That was the shot that hit me. Got my gun out of the car. Tried to fire at them. Turned back called for her and just looked and she wasn't there. I, I, I had no idea she had been shot at that point. I got rid of my gun. I stepped over the top of her you know shook her a little bit. Tried to figure out you know, you know 'Patty, Patty talk to me.' She didn't respond to me."

"Decide to go for a walk. Got out there."

The subject begins his story without using any pronouns. Who went for a walk? He left himself out of the story by not saying "I" or "we" went for a walk. We see the same thing when he says, "Got out there." We do not interpret what someone has said. We only believe what people tell us. These missing pronouns show a lack of commitment to his story.

The subject is supposed to be telling us what happened that night. Therefore, he should be speaking in the past tense. Using present tense language (decide) is a sign that part of his story is not coming from memory. This is also an indication of deception.

"Um, stood for a few moments and a received a page from home. Something was going on at home. Let's go back and make a phone call and see what's going on."

Again we have the missing pronoun "I." He does not state, "I stood for a few moments" or "I received a page from home."

In giving his statement, the officer used the word "um" to take a brief pause. This may indicate his story is not coming from memory. He has to pause to think about what to say.

The presence of the word "pager," "phone," "telephone" or "cell phone" in a story is an indication of deception. It usually means the person is tied to the crime scene. It is true that most people do make phone calls throughout the day. If we asked them to tell us everything they did, they may tell us about making a telephone call or receiving a call. However, they will do more than just mention it. They may tell us whom they called, what they talked about, or how long the call lasted.

In a deceptive story, the person is leaving out incriminating information. Therefore, he will look for things to put into his story to replace the information he does not want to share. Sometimes he may do this by saying that he made a telephone call. However, he will neglect to tell us whom he called or what they talked about. Talking about a phone may also be a stall tactic to give him time to think about what else to put into his story. Remember, this is not an absolute but only an indication of deception.

"Got approached by a gentleman asking for money. When I addressed him I was struck in the rear, knocked to the ground. Struggled with him. There was a shot that went off. Struggled with him and there was another shot that went off. That was the shot that hit me."

Again the pronoun "I" is missing. "Who got approached? Who struggled with him? We do not take anything for granted.

The use of the word "gentleman" is a very polite term for someone who killed your wife. We would expect him to refer to the attacker as a "man" or perhaps even use harsh language to describe him.

The word "asking" is soft tone language. Again he is being polite in describing the attacker. Robbers do not ask for money. They "demand" it which is stronger language. However, it may be that the robber used a ruse and did ask him for money while his partner sneaked up behind the officer.

We also see he used passive language when he talks about the gun being fired. When people use passive language they are concealing someone's identity. He tells us that the gun "went off." Guns do not discharge by themselves. Someone has to pull the trigger. If he pulled the trigger and shot his wife, he is not going to tell us that. Telling us that a robber shot him would be a lie. Since people do not want to lie, he uses passive language which is the truth; Shots were fired. However, he neglects to tell us who fired the shots.

He repeats the phrase "struggled with him." He may have done this to give himself more time to think about what to say next. Again, this is an indication his story is not coming from memory.

"Got my gun out of the car. Tried to fire at them. Turned back called for her and just looked and she wasn't there."

Again we have the missing "I." "Got my gun.......Tried to fire......Turned back." He does not tell us who performed these actions.

The word "tried" means he did not do it. He only attempted. What does he mean when he says, "Tried to fire at them"? Did his gun misfire? If he wants us to believe that he shot at them but did not hit them, then that is what he should have said.

I, I, I had no idea she had been shot at that point. I got rid of my gun. I stepped over the top of her you know shook her a little bit. Tried to figure out you know, you know 'Patty, Patty talk to me.' She didn't respond to me."

We see that he stutters when telling us that he did not know his wife had been shot. "I, I, I had no idea she had been shot." If he normally does not stutter, then this is an indication of stress at this point in his story.

When people use the phrase "I have no idea" or "I have no clue" they are usually not being truthful. Most people have an idea on just about everything. It is very rare when a person can honestly make a statement like this. I would belive him if he stated, "I didn't know she had been shot." However, he could not make that statement.

"I got rid of my gun." We would want to find out what he means by this. Most people would tell us what they did with their gun. Why would a police officer who had just been attacked get rid of his gun?

Some people have the habit of using the phrase "you know" throughout their story. However, if it only appears a few times, then the person may be expecting us to take for granted what happened; "you know shook her a little bit." The person is not telling us that he did it. He just wants us to believe he did it. We take nothing for granted. We believe what people tell us.

It turned out this decorated officer went to a park with his wife and shot her at point blank range. He then shot himself in such a way that he would survive. He then made up the story about being robbed.

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