COLUMBIA, Pa. — Note: The video is from Jan. 4.
Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams on Friday announced her ruling that a West Hempfield Township police officer was justified in discharging his firearm during an incident involving a barricaded gunman in January.
While the officer's shot did not strike the gunman, Adams' office reviews all police-involved shootings whether the target was struck or not, Adams said.
According to Adams, an investigation of the incident by State Police found:
- On Jan. 3, a standoff between police and Shawn D. Stryker ensued after Stryker refused to leave a home on Goldfinch Drive in Columbia when police were dispatched there for a domestic incident.
- The incident began at 11:45 a.m., when a woman inside the home called 911 and reported that when she awoke, Stryker was standing next to her with a rifle in one hand and a handgun in another. The woman reported that Stryker then loaded the rifle and pointed it at her and had made threats to harm himself.
- West Hempfield officers responded and spoke to the female, who had left the house. An officer then called Stryker to attempt to have Stryker exit the residence, but he refused to do so.
- Police then called the Lancaster County Special Emergency Response Team to the scene.
- Negotiators did speak with Stryker on three occasions during the incident, but Stryker refused to come out of the residence. After a prolonged period of time and with additional failed attempts to both speak to Stryker and to hail Stryker outside the residence, SERT began deploying a series of munitions inside the residence while announcements for Stryker to exit the residence continued.
- SERT officers observed Stryker inside his house with a weapon peering out different windows with a rifle raised to his shoulder.
- At one point, Stryker came out of the house onto a porch carrying a rifle. Stryker then began to raise the rifle in a shooting stance in the direction of SERT officers located at the perimeter of the rear of the house.
- In response, one SERT officer shot at Stryker to cover other SERT officers who were positioned in the direction Stryker was facing when he raised his rifle.
- The SERT officer fired because Stryker posed an immediate deadly threat to the other SERT officers who were positioned on the back side of the house.
- The shot from the officer hit a stair leading to an above ground pool off the back of the house, ultimately missing Stryker, who immediately retreated back into the house.
- Shortly thereafter, officers heard two shots fired from inside the residence and within minutes of one another. A negotiator was able to make contact with Stryker and confirmed that he was not injured by any of the shots fired.
- The nine-hour standoff concluded when Stryker was eventually arrested after exiting the front of his house, again with the rifle, but placed the weapon on the ground after being given commands from law enforcement.
- However, Stryker continued to walk toward the officers, disobeying repeated commands to stop and turn around.
- Ultimately, Stryker was controlled by a police K-9, which allowed police to successfully, and safely, arrest him.
In accordance with internal policy, the District Attorney’s Office said it will not name the officer because there are no criminal charges being filed as the shooting was deemed justified.
“The suspect clearly placed SERT members in danger of death or serious bodily injury and created a situation where the officer was justified to use lethal force in defense of others,” Adams said. “The entire SERT team showed great restraint in dealing with an armed subject who had twice fired at police and refused to surrender over a more than nine-hour period.”
Stryker is charged with simple assault and recklessly endangering another person in relation to his actions with the female victim and six counts of felony aggravated assault, as well as recklessly endangering another person and possessing an instrument of crime for the incident relating to SERT officers, Adams said.