Family Of Man Fatally Shot By Montco Cops Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, PA — Family members of a man who was fatally shot last summer by Plymouth Township Police officers are now suing the municipality and 10 unnamed officers in federal court over the killing.

The estate of Michael Paone filed a wrongful death claim at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Plymouth Township and the 10 police officers, referred to only as Officers Doe 1-10.

Paone was shot and killed early last August by police after officers were called out to the Plymouth Garden Apartments on Fayette Street following a reported stabbing.

It was subsequently determined that Paone had stabbed his own mother. The woman ultimately survived her injuries.

Paone, who eventually ditched the knife and instead armed himself with a handgun, refused police orders to drop his gun during an altercation and he was ultimately shot and killed by officers, Patch previously reported.

Last September, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office cleared the officers, determining that the shooting by law enforcement was justified.

The civil suit playing out in federal court was initiated by the administrators of Paone's estate - Michael Paone, Jr. and Lisa Paone of Horsham and Pottstown respectively.

The pair are listed as Paone's parents.

Also listed as a co-plaintiff is Juliana Paone, who was the sister of Michael Paone.

The suit says that Paone, who was 22 years old at the time of his killing, had suffered from a host of mental illnesses, such as attention deficit disorder, an anxiety disorder, and bipolar disorder with features of schizophrenia, delusions and paranoia.

The complaint says that on the night of the killing, Paone had exhibited symptoms of his mental illnesses when he stabbed his mother in the arms with a small knife during an incident, causing only "superficial wounds to her arm."

The lawsuit says that the sister was the one who called 911, and that she was clear with dispatchers that Paone suffered from mental health issues and that he was in crisis at the time.

The suit notes that Paone was involuntarily committed for mental health treatment just a couple of weeks prior to the stabbing incident.

According to the lawsuit, Paone had been armed with only a toy gun — not a real one, as was originally reported by police — at the time he was killed. The plaintiffs claim that Paone had initially dropped the gun as ordered, but that when he appeared to be bending over to pick it back up, he was shot by officers.

The lawsuit said that the officer who fired, who had previously been standing behind a trash dumpster for cover, "moved out of his safe location and without any warning to Decedent immediately and abruptly fired three shots at Decedent, causing Decedent to fall to the ground."

The complaint then says the same officer fired two more shots at Paone, within "five or six seconds," and while he was laying on the ground.

Two more officers subsequently opened fire on Paone as he was on the ground, the lawsuit states.

"Prior to using lethal force, Does 1 through 3 did not attempt to assess Decedent's medical condition or mental or psychological state, even though they had been informed, or should have been informed by 911 dispatch, that Decedent was in the midst of a mental health crisis, had a history of mental illness, and had no weapons," the lawsuit reads. "Does 1 through 3 did not use de-escalation techniques, or attempt to speak to Decedent in a professional and nonthreatening way."

The lawsuit says that the officers also did not issue any verbal warning that deadly force would be used prior to shooting Paone multiple times, "despite it being feasible to do so."

"No defendant issued appropriate commands to Decedent, except to drop the gun, which he did immediately," the suit states.

The lawsuit claims that at the time of the shooting, Paone posed no immediate threat of death or serious physical injury to any of the defendants or anyone else, and that Paone never verbally threatened any of the officers.

The suit says that police declined to resort to using less lethal options available to them at the time of the incident.

"The involved officers did not show a reverence for human life," the lawsuit states. "The involved officers are responsible for every single shot they fired. This was not an immediate defense-of-life situation."

The suit says that Paone sustained eight gunshot wounds to his chest, legs, arms and right hand as a result of the shooting, and that some of his fingers were even blown off as a result of the fatal shooting.

The lawsuit also accuses the officers of not doing enough to try and help Paone after the shooting.

Furthermore, the suit accuses the defendants of disseminating false information about the incident to news organizations, which went on to publish the information it was given about the encounter.

"Upon information and belief, defendants disseminated information described herein about Decedent in an attempt to justify, distort, and/or cover up its own conduct described herein," the suit states.

The lawsuit contains numerous counts of federal civil rights violations, as well as counts of municipal liability for unconstitutional customs or policies and failure to properly train officers, neglect, wrongful death, assault and battery, defamation, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The officers, while now being sued civilly, were determined to be justified in their actions last September when Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said that they engaged in an appropriate use of force during the encounter and that no criminal charges would be filed in connection with the shooting.

"A law enforcement officer is 'justified in using deadly force only when he believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself or such other person ...,'" the DA's Office had stated in a September 2021 news release.

Plymouth Police referred questions to its solicitor.

Patch reached out to Rudolph Clarke, the law firm that acts as solicitor for Plymouth Township, and the firm said that it is unable to comment on active litigation.