Warren DA: State police trooper justified in fatally shooting man in March drug, gun probe
WARREN — Warren County's district attorney has cleared a Pennsylvania State Police trooper of criminal wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a Warren County man during a reported armed confrontation in March.
District Attorney Rob Greene, in a news release issued on Tuesday, said his office's investigation into the March 22 incident determined the trooper's actions in fatally shooting the man were justified.
More: Authorities probe state police shooting at Warren County residence that left man dead
State police have so far only identified the shooting victim as a 41-year-old man. Greene did not identify the victim or the victim's address in his news release and said he would have no further comment on the matter. Warren County Coroner Melissa Zydonik could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
The shooting happened on March 22 at about 6 a.m. at a residence on Stillwater Road in Freehold Township, east of Bear Lake and west of Sugar Grove. State police reported at the time that troopers and local police officers from Warren County went to the residence for an undisclosed reason, and during a confrontation the trooper discharged the trooper's weapon, resulting in the 41-year-old man's death.
According to Greene, members of the Warren County Drug Task Force, with the assistance of the state police Special Emergency Response Team, executed a "high-risk" search warrant at the residence following a months-long investigation into the illegal sale of methamphetamine in the Warren area. The suspect, who was considered armed and dangerous, was also believed to have guns while being a person not permitted to possess firearms because of prior criminal convictions, Greene wrote in the news release.
He said officers made entry into the garage of the residence and encountered the suspect, who was holding a gun and refusing commands to drop it. The suspect then made a sudden movement with the gun in his hand and a state police trooper fired one round, killing the suspect, Greene wrote in the release.
He said he determined the shooting was justified after reviewing all video, statements of witnesses and the incident report.
"This is an unfortunate situation which put law enforcement in an unavoidable situation to use deadly force," Greene wrote in the release.
Authorities have not identified the trooper who shot the man. The trooper was placed on administrative duty after the incident but will return to full duty as state police conduct an internal investigation into that trooper's use of force during the incident, Capt. Kirk Reese, commander of state police Troop E in Lawrence Park Township, said Tuesday.
Troop E covers Warren, Erie, Crawford and Venango counties.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Warren DA clears state police trooper in man's fatal shooting in March
