Police kill ex-officer, say he pointed gun

A former Westminster policeman was fatally shot by Atascadero police after emerging from his apartment and aiming a shotgun at officers responding to a report that he was fighting with his girlfriend, authorities said Tuesday.

Rich Pope, 46, was shot five times during the incident Saturday, said Lt. Carole Robinson, a police spokeswoman. He had recently found work as a welder in San Luis Obispo County, she said.

In the mid-1980s, Pope worked patrol in Westminster, where he is remembered as a popular, physically fit officer with a drinking problem, Westminster Capt. Bill Lewis said.