Investigators say a West Manheim Township man who died during an altercation with police in November of 2013 took his own life. In a press release , Coroner Pamela Gay says the death of Brian Costley was caused by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the torso. District Attorney Tom Kearney also issued the results of his department’s investigation and says the the officer who shot Costley prior to his suicide was justified in shooting Costley, who fired on the officer first.
Police were called to 2665 Baltimore Pike, West Manheim Township around 1pm on November 18th, 2013, to serve an arrest warrant on Costley.
Costley reportedly ignored Officer Edwin Schneider when he arrived and told Costley he needed to speak with him. According to the report, Costley began walking away from the Schneider, waiving his left hand in the air in a dismissive fashion, and told the officer to “hold on a minute.” Schneider walked after Costley, who increased his speed towards a back door of the home. Schneider ordered Costley to stop several times, but he refused to comply and continued towards the back door of the residence at a faster pace. As Costley was attempting to enter the back door, Schneider fired his Taser from approximately a 15-20 foot distance. Only one Taser barb hit Costley, though, and he was unaffected by the Taser.
Costley went into the back door, and Schneider followed. Costley then fired four shots at Schneider, according to the report. Schneider retreated from the home and returned fire, eight shots from his .40 Glock. At 6:24pm, the York County Quick Response Team entered the residence and found Costley dead.
Gunshot residue on Costley’s clothing and ballistics evidence led to the conclusion that he died of self-inflicted wounds from his .380 caliber Fabrique Nationale D’armes semi-automatic pistol and not from Schneider’s Glock.
