CARLISLE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania prosecutor says a police officer was justified in using lethal force against a man shot and killed during a confrontation last month in which the officer was also wounded.
Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack said Tuesday that no charges would be filed in the Feb. 16 shooting death of 54-year-old Roger Ellis.
On that day at around 3 p.m., six officers from multiple agencies, including Pennsylvania State Police, travelled to Brittany Drive in North Middleton Township, Cumberland County to serve an arrest warrant to Ellis.
State police said Ellis brandished a handgun outside a mobile home and shot a North Middleton Township officer “at close range,” hitting the officer’s bulletproof vest. Police said Ellis later came toward the officer, who fired, and Ellis was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy confirmed he had cocaine and methamphetamines in his body.
"We found that everything the officers did was proper and the officer, feeling threatened, fired," said McCormack.
Ellis had an active arrest warrant for fleeing and eluding police from an attempted Camp Hill police stop in January as well as other warrants, police said.
"You might ask a question of why fleeing and eluding charges you need so many officers to be present to make an arrest: [it's] because a situation like this might arise," said McCormack. "...I think it goes to show, on any particular day, when police go out and execute something as simple as an arrest warrant, their lives are on the line."
Police said, besides the officer who was shot, no other injuries resulted from the incident. Authorities continue to investigate how Ellis, who was not legally able to obtain a firearm, got a hold of one.