Troopers identify man shot and killed during standoff in Fayette County

Paul Peirce, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

Apr. 16—State police released the identity of a 67-year-old Fayette County man fatally shot by troopers following a standoff Tuesday at his Saltlick home.

Police say Keith Robert Tafoya exited his Pine Slope Road home and pointed a shotgun at members of the state police Special Emergency Response Team (SERT).

Tafoya kept troopers at bay for several hours following a report of a domestic dispute at his residence at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday. The incident closed a section of Route 711/381 for several hours.

State police Sgt. Michael Irwin wrote in a press release Tafoya's wife reported she had been assaulted and strangled by her husband before she fled to a neighboring home and called Fayette County 911.

Police spoke to the woman and went to the home to speak to Tafoya.

According to Irwin, troopers "knocked and announced their presence from outside the main front door."

Receiving no response, they went to a basement door and walked up a stairway leading into the residence. Receiving no response, the troopers began to leave. As they headed back down the stairway, a single round from a shotgun was fired through the door, Irwin said.

One trooper was grazed on the side of the head and back with either shrapnel or shotgun pellets, Irwin wrote. The injuries were minor and did not require immediate medical treatment, Trooper Robert Broadwater said Tuesday.

"Troopers were able to escape the residence and establish a perimeter as they requested backup," Irwin continued.

SERT members and additional troopers from Uniontown responded.

For several hours, state police negotiators attempted to convince Tafoya to leave the home and surrender, police said.

"Eventually, negotiations met an impasse, as the actor refused to exit the residence," Irwin wrote.

Tafoya came outside with a shotgun just before 4 p.m., Irwin said.

"(Tafoya) raised the shotgun and aimed it at the members positioned outside the residence. Members fired their weapons, striking (Tafoya)," Irwin wrote.

Tafoya was pronounced dead at the scene.

Broadwater said troopers had no previous calls at the residence. Tafoya had no criminal record in Pennsylvania, according to online dockets.

The shooting will be automatically reviewed by the state police major case unit, Broadwater said.

Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@triblive.com or via Twitter .