Death by Cop 2021-2025
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Joshua David Amodeo
Age : 29
Gender : Male
Race : White
Date : 08/26/2022
Location : 3000 block of Yellow Sulphur Road
City : Blacksburg
County : Montgomery
State : Virginia
Agency : Blacksburg Police Department; Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
Officer(s) :Not Disclosed
Cause of Death : Gunshot
Event : Killed by police during mental health welfare check
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On 08/26/2022, Blacksburg Police Department officers and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputies shot and killed 29-year-old Joshua David Amodeo after responding to his residence in the 3000 block of Yellow Sulphur Road for a welfare check. The call came at approximately 2 a.m., and Virginia State Police reported that responding officers and deputies attempted to de-escalate the situation.
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Amodeo initially remained outside the residence speaking with law enforcement. According to Virginia State Police, he then went inside the house and returned with a firearm. Police alleged that Amodeo fired the weapon toward officers and deputies, who returned fire and struck him. The available official account does not provide the number of shots fired, identify which officers or deputies fired, or describe how long the encounter lasted before the gunfire began.
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Officers and deputies provided first aid after the shooting, and Blacksburg Rescue responded. Amodeo died at the scene. Virginia State Police reported that no responding officers or deputies were physically injured.
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The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Salem Division investigated the killing at the request of the Blacksburg Police Department. State Police said the completed investigation would be forwarded to the Blacksburg Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for review.
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Amodeo had a substantial military-education background. Before attending Radford University, he spent three years as a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. His obituary states that military life had been a longstanding goal and that he wanted to serve in the U.S. Navy. He later graduated from Radford University with a degree in criminal justice and worked as a security guard at Radford Arsenal, as a Blacksburg Transit bus driver and, most recently, as a restaurant manager.
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The available records therefore document Amodeo’s three years at the U.S. Naval Academy but do not establish that he subsequently served on active duty in the U.S. Navy or should be classified as a military veteran. The police encounter itself was explicitly initiated as a welfare check, and existing case records classify the circumstances as a mental health crisis.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
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The Blacksburg Police Department officers and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputies who fired at Amodeo were not identified in the public records located.
SOURCE LINKS :
https://www.mccoyfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Joshua-Amodeo/#!/TributeWall
