ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday announced that it found the Northwest Regional Police officer who shot and killed an Elizabethtown man outside the police station earlier this month was justified in using deadly force during the incident.
Andrew Ward, 39, died in the shooting outside the Northwest Regional Police station in the early morning hours of Sunday, Nov. 3, according to District Attorney Heather Adams, whose office reviewed the investigation on the incident conducted by Lancaster County Detectives.
The name of the officer will not be released as it has been determined that no crime was committed by the officer involved, Adams said.
Ward first encountered police around 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2 when he was arrested for driving under the influence on Elizabethtown Road in Mount Joy Township.
Ward’s BAC was .229 at the time, authorities said.
While being taken into custody for DUI, Ward became uncooperative and resisted arrest which resulted in officers taking him to the ground to effect the arrest, according to police.
Ward’s sunglasses were damaged during the arrest.
No officers were injured during the arrest and Ward was processed and released to his spouse around 11 p.m., the investigation determined.
Ward then drove back to the police station around 1:30 a.m. Sunday and used a phone outside the station to call County 911, informing them that he was at the station and wanted to retrieve a missing part to his sunglasses.
Around this time a Northwest Regional Police officer (Officer 1) and a civilian ride-along were leaving the station to respond to another call, the investigation determined.
As Officer 1 drove around the front of the building, they noticed the same car in the parking lot that Ward’s spouse had used to pick him up after he was released from the station, investigators said.
Officer 1 looped around in the patrol car back toward the parked car and then noticed Ward in the parking lot.
Officer 1 exited their vehicle and spoke to Ward, who was visibly agitated because his sunglasses were missing a side arm piece, according to investigators.
Officer 1 told Ward that they had returned the broken arm piece along with his sunglasses and hat. Ward refused to accept this information and repeatedly demanded that he be given the missing piece to his sunglasses, investigators said.
Officer 1 asked why Ward drove back to the station and Ward indicated it was to retrieve the missing piece of his sunglasses.
Officer 1 warned Ward that he could once again be arrested for DUI and attempted to deescalate the situation for more than eight minutes, during which they called for backup, according to investigators.
During the encounter, Ward displayed visible signs of intoxication including stumbling and impaired speech, the investigation determined.
A second officer (Officer 2) arrived as backup and exited their vehicle and Ward began walking backward and away from both officers.
Officer 1 informed Ward that he was under arrest, investigators said. Ward refused to comply with Officer 1’s verbal commands to turn around and face away from them.
As a result, both officers produced tasers, and Officer 1 again instructed Ward that he was under arrest and to get on the ground.
In response, Ward repeatedly asked whether the officer “wants to [expletive] do this?”
Officer 1 attempted to deploy their taser at Ward, but the taser malfunctioned and did not deploy, according to investigators.
As Officer 1 attempted to reset the taser and deploy it again, they saw Ward lift his sweatshirt with his left hand, revealing a handgun in Ward’s front waistband.
Officer 1 then saw Ward reach for the weapon and dropped the taser to retrieve their duty firearm while announcing “gun," the investigation determined.
Ward then pulled a loaded handgun from his waistband and pointed it at both officers.
Officer 1 fired eight rounds toward Ward in response, according to investigators.
Officer 2 fired no rounds during the incident but deployed their taser, which struck Ward in his left hand.
Officer 1 immediately began performing life-saving measures on Ward, who succumbed to his injuries at the scene, investigators said.
An autopsy determined that Ward was struck four to five times in his left leg, the left side of his torso, his left hip and his right wrist, according to the investigation.
The civilian ride-along fled for safety upon seeing the gun and was unharmed during this incident, investigators said.
The handgun that Ward carried in his waistband was recovered on the ground in between his left arm and his torso and was determined to be loaded at the time, the investigation determined.
Officers also seized an M4-style semi-automatic rifle loaded with a 30-round magazine, two additional loaded handguns and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition from the front passenger compartment of the vehicle Ward had driven to the scene, according to investigators.
A review of the body-worn camera footage from both officers showed that Ward pulled the gun from his waistband and pointed it in the direction of both officers. The actions of Ward clearly placed everyone present in danger of death or serious bodily injury and therefore the officer was legally justified to use deadly force, Adams said in her review of the case.
“The law is clear that police officers have no duty to retreat from making an arrest,” Adams said. “In this case, the officer recognized that a deadly weapon had been introduced and acted quickly to protect their own life and the lives of two others and was therefore justified in their use of force.”
