DA says police shooting justified
By ANGIE MASON
For The Evening Sun
Posted: 01/05/2009 08:39:18 AM EST
A Pennsylvania State Police trooper fired the shot that killed an alleged bank robber who led police on a high-speed chase on Interstate 83 in October, and that shooting has been ruled justified, according to the Cumberland County District Attorney's Office.
"In taking into account all the factors in this case, it was not a hard decision," District Attorney David Freed said Wednesday.
Police said two men, Shaun Damon McArthur, 36, of Harrisburg, and Robert Lee, 44, also of Harrisburg, robbed a Peoples Bank in West Manchester Township on Oct. 24 and fled.
A York City Police officer spotted their Jeep on Route 30 near Fairlane Drive and began pursuit, according to Freed's ruling.
State and local police joined the high-speed chase as the men drove north on Interstate 83 into Cumberland County. Shots were fired from the Jeep at the pursuing police cars and officers who had positioned themselves along the road, Freed wrote.
The chase ended when Pennsylvania State Police Sgt. Charles Mory fired five shots into the Jeep, killing the driver, Freed stated.
Lee, the driver, was found inside the Jeep, dead from a gunshot wound. Freed said ballistics tests determined that the bullet came from the state trooper and not from inside the car.
Mory, a 25-year veteran of the state police, was traveling home from the Pennsylvania State Police Academy when he heard radio reports about the pursuit, Freed said.
As a member of the state police Special
Emergency Response Team, Mory is assigned an unmarked car and is expected to monitor radio traffic and respond to high-risk events, according to Freed.
Mory drove to the area of I-83 and Route 581 and positioned his vehicle on the exit ramp to block the entrance to Route 581, then stopped two tractor-trailers to help with the roadblock, according to Freed.
The Jeep's driver tried to avoid the roadblock and steered directly at Mory, who avoided being hit. Mory heard a shot from inside the Jeep as it passed, Freed wrote.
"Reacting to the Jeep attempting to run him over and the shot fired at him, Mory fired five shots from his weapon into the Jeep, hitting and killing the driver," Freed wrote.
Freed found that Mory acted reasonably and believed he needed to fire his weapon to prevent his own death or serious bodily injury.
"Sgt. Mory knew that after a high speed chase of approximately 20 miles with numerous shots fired, potentially deadly force was the only option to take the suspects into custody," Freed wrote.
State police spokesman Trooper Karl Schmidhamer declined to comment, referring questions to Freed.
SUSPECT UPDATE:
Shaun Damon McArthur, 36, of Harrisburg, faces 52 charges, including robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, reckless endangerment and conspiracy to commit homicide, related to the Oct. 24 bank robbery in West Manchester Township and high-speed chase.
McArthur waived a preliminary hearing Dec. 16. He remains in York County Prison in lieu of $125,000 bail.
His arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 23 in the York County Court of Common Pleas, according to court documents.
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