Montco Officer Cleared In Shooting During Condo Standoff Incident

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Prosecutors have cleared a local police officer who used his rifle to shoot a suspect in the arm during a tense standoff incident in the Mont Clare section of Upper Providence Township earlier this month.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office on Wednesday said that an investigation has determined that a Limerick Township police officer's use of force was justified during an incident involving a suspect who had taken shots at responding officers after police were called for a report of a man experiencing a mental health episode.

The incident took place in the parking lot of the Meadows condo complex on March 16 around 3 in the morning.

Police had been dispatched to the scene after a caller said that a suspect, later identified as 62-year-old David Naumenko, had reportedly been experiencing a mental breakdown.

Patch previously reported on Naumenko's arrest. He's being charged with attempted murder of a police officer.

On Wednesday, the D.A.'s Office stated that a Limerick Township officer who had been assisting at the scene was justified in shooting Naumenko in the arm with his police-issued Colt M4 carbine rifle.

Naumenko was taken to Paoli Hospital for treatment of his arm injury following the shooting. He survived the shooting and is now awaiting trial on attempted murder and other charges.

The incident unfolded when an Upper Providence police officer, who was first on the scene, approached Naumenko, who was inside a pickup truck in the condo complex parking lot, to see if he was OK.

The officer initially called out to see if Naumenko needed assistance, but as he got closer to the vehicle, Naumenko began firing at the officer, according to the D.A.'s Office.

The bullet grazed the officer, tearing the back of his police uniform and severing his police radio cord, prosecutors stated.

The Upper Providence officer then fired six shots toward the vehicle.

Naumenko then took off in his pickup truck but did not get far before crashing into two vehicles. He then got out of the truck and ran into a nearby wooded area, according to prosecutors.

Meanwhile, the Limerick Township officer was able to gain entry into a second-story unit at the condo complex and, from the window of the unit, he was able to take his rifle, aim, and shoot Naumenko once in the arm, ending the episode, according to the D.A.'s Office.

Backup officers and members of the regional SWAT team were subsequently able to take Naumenko into custody before he was transported to the hospital.

"Police were fired upon by the defendant almost immediately upon arrival, and that first responding officer very narrowly escaped physical injury from shots being fired by Naumenko," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said in a statement. "The defendant continued shooting, until finally, a Limerick Police Officer obtained a heightened position that allowed him to obtain a clear view of the defendant, and he took one shot that ended the lethal threat to the officers' lives and the lives of everyone in that apartment complex."

The D.A.'s Office said the ruling on justified use of force followed an independent investigation by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau, which involved interviews with numerous police officers and witnesses at the scene of the shooting; a review of police bodycam footage; a review of police dashcam footage; and a review of a 911 call.

The names of the officers involved in the incident were not released by prosecutors.

Naumenko is being held on $2 million cash bail at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.