Crime & Safety
Police Shooting In East Goshen Twp. Standoff Was Lawful: D.A.
The Chester County D.A.'s Office concluded that officers acted lawfully when they shot a man who'd fired at police and made death threats.
EAST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP, PA — An independent investigation of police use of force against a barricaded man who shot 15 rounds at police determined officers acted lawfully when they fired and injured a suspect last month.
An East Goshen Township man went wounded to Paoli hospital on Feb. 11 after a gunfire exchange with police officers and stand-off that barricaded an East Goshen Township home and forced neighbors to shelter in place that night.
Today the Chester County District Attorney's Office said its investigation into the officer-involved shooting found that officers acted lawfully in the incident in which they were fired at more than a dozen times while de-escalating a situation in which a 34-year-old man had threatened to kill members of his family.
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An independent investigation by the Chester County District Attorney's Office looked into the Feb. 11 incident when a member of the West Chester Regional Emergency Response Team (WCRERT) fired a weapon in the line of duty. Westtown-East GoshenRegional Police (WEGO) and WCRERT came to the scene where a gunman threatened to kill himself and his family at his residence in the 900 block of Cornwallis Drive in East Goshen Township.
While crisis negotiators attempted to communicate with the man, seeking a peaceful surrender, the man fired more than a dozen rounds at police, authorities reported. One round struck near where West Chester Regional Emergency Response Team (WCRERT) members were standing for cover, the district attorney's report said.
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The D.A. reported that a WCRERT member fired two rounds of defensive gunfire, striking the suspect. WCRERT administered first aid to the suspect before transferring him to Paoli Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition after the incident.
The Chester County District Attorney's Office concluded that the officer-involved shooting constituted a lawful use of force according to 18 Pa. C.S.A. §508.
The D.A. said an investigation into the suspect is pending. No charges had been announced in the case as of March 1.
Read an earlier story about the shooting here.
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