Allentown Police officer who shot woman at former Good Shepherd building was justified, district attorney rules

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown Police officer who shot a woman at the former Good Shepherd Hospital building last month was justified in his use of force and will not face charges.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan announced the decision Wednesday after an investigation by Allentown Police Department and Lehigh County Homicide Task Force.

The officer, whose name Holihan said will not be released, and two medics approached the woman after the shooting "to ensure she had no additional weapons and all three first responders provided emergency medical treatment to her."

The 29-year-old woman, whose name also was not released, survived her injuries from the single shot, it said.

"The woman who was struck posed an imminent risk of harm to the officer as well as to two Allentown EMS medics, a hospital security guard and arguably herself," Holihan said in a release.

Holihan said his investigation "found that the officer’s use of force was justified. His actions were reasonable both objectively and subjectively."

He said the officer "gave repeated clear commands for the woman to drop a knife she was holding. The force used was limited to that which was necessary to end the threat and was effective in doing so.

"Additionally, the officer attempted to use less than lethal force but was unable to do so because of the actions of the woman.

"I conclude that the officer was justified in using deadly force during this incident and therefore no criminal charges are appropriate and no criminal charges will be approved by this office," Holihan said in the release.

'Are you serious?'

The release said police were called to the former Good Shepherd Hospital, 850 S. 5th St., at 5:50 p.m. Jan. 11.

It said the incident was recorded on a video camera at the former hospital location as well as on the body-worn camera by the officer.

The release gives this account:

A security guard was working at the former facility and was in the lobby when he heard knocking on the window. He saw the woman outside and she said she was being abused and asked him to call EMS.

The guard described her as “stressed, panicked and anxious.”

The guard let the woman into the lobby and called Allentown EMS. Two EMS workers arrived, and he met them as well as the Allentown Police officer and told them what the woman had said.

He led the EMS workers and the officer into the lobby, when the woman stood up with a knife in her hand.

The first medic yelled that she had a knife and backed away to radio for help. He stated that he heard the officer yelling “drop the knife” repeatedly as the woman walked toward the officer and the desk area.

The officer’s body-worn camera footage shows he gave 16 clear verbal commands to the woman to drop the knife, but she did not comply.

Instead, she responded by waving the knife around and moving close to the officer and first responders while making statements such as, “It’s just a knife; I’m not going to hurt anyone" and “Are you serious?”

'That wasn't a gun!'

As the woman moved toward the officer, the release said, he moved closer to the exit and entryway.

The woman was then at a counter near the entrance lobby area going through a white box of her possessions with her back turned to the officer.

The officer attempted to transition from his firearm to his taser with the intention of subduing her, if necessary, with less-than-lethal force.

Before he could transition to his taser, the woman turned back toward the officer with the knife in one hand and a device in her other hand that appeared to be a gun, taser or other weapon.

The officer described it as a yellow-and-black object that had a handle and a trigger on it.

The woman moved toward the officer with the object in her right hand and extended it in what the office described as a “firing manner.”

Believing the object was a taser or some kind of weapon that could incapacitate him, he fired one round from his handgun.

The round hit the woman in the pelvis area and knocked her to the ground. She tossed away the object, as well as the knife with which she had initially approached the first responders.

The woman said several times, “That wasn’t a gun.”

She was bleeding from the legs, so once she was disarmed, they all began treating her injuries with tourniquets, preparing her for transport.

'Temperature gun'

Holihan said the investigation found that the officer "weighed whether the woman’s possession of what could be a taser created a risk of death or serious bodily injury to him or anyone else and he concluded that it did.

"As part of his training, he had been tased and knew that when tased, he was fully incapacitated for approximately five seconds and partially incapacitated well after that.

"The officer said he understood that if he was incapacitated while in the lobby, the woman would easily be able to take his firearm and ammunition he carried with him.

"He understood the risk this created for himself as well as for the two medics, the guard and any other people in the building."

The release said the object the woman had in her right hand and pointed at the officer was found to be a digital infrared non-contact thermometer, also known as a “temperature gun.”

"It resembles a taser in many aspects, including size, shape and color scheme," the release said. "It has a handle and trigger and it was pointed at the officer when he discharged his firearm."

'Posed an imminent risk of harm'

The release said Pennsylvania law regarding the use of deadly force by a police officer as it pertains to the case "justifies the use of such force if the officer reasonably believed that the woman represented an imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury to him or any other person."

"Based on the totality of the circumstances of this incident, including the manner in which the woman presented the temperature gun during this incident and her immediate statements after the shooting, it can only be concluded that she intended to threaten and/or menace the officer with the device," the release said.

"The officer’s perception of events was objectively and subjectively reasonable.

"The woman posed an imminent risk of harm to the officer, as well as the two medics, the security guard and arguably herself."