Robert Rose had experienced mental health crises since his return from Afghanistan, where he served with the National Guard. The final crisis occurred on Feb. 28, 2025, when law enforcement officers fatally shot him.
Medical personal obtained a court order for Rose's hospitalization, but they needed help with the disabled veteran and called the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office for help. The sheriff's office then called the North Charleston Police Department for assistance.
The attempt to escort Rose for treatment turned into an hours-long standoff. The day ended not with Rose's hospitalization but his death.
Stanley Rose filed a lawsuit on July 31 against the city of North Charleston on behalf of his 35-year-old son's estate. The city did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.
Robert Rose was in the middle of a mental health crisis that day in February 2025. He was at his apartment complex, Waverly Place, located just north of Joint Base Charleston. Rose suffered periodic episodes during which he would experience psychosis, hallucinations and disorganized thoughts, according the lawsuit filed in Dorchester County.
The Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center personnel obtained a court order for Rose's detention. Sheriff deputies arrived around 10:30 a.m. When Rose would not exit his vehicle voluntarily, deputies broke a window in an attempt to remove him by force. Rose got out of the car armed with a hatchet and a deputy was cut. He fled into his apartment.
Around 3:30 p.m., the sheriff's department SWAT team fired tear gas into the apartment. North Charleston police officers Michael Layton and Alexander Wilkinson were deployed at the scene with assault rifles.
Rose climbed out of an apartment window just before 4 p.m. He held two hatchets at his side and didn't respond to officers' commands. Layton shot at Rose several times, according to the lawsuit. Rose died at a local hospital at 4:24 p.m.
The lawsuit accuses the city of negligence in the shooting of Rose, who it claims did not pose in imminent threat to law enforcement nor civilians, and by not giving Rose time to comply with officers' commands.
The Public Integrity Unity of the 1st and 14th solicitor's offices determined in June 2025 that the officers who shot Rose did not act in a criminal manner.