Police were justified in shooting knife-wielding man, Montco DA says
Hatfield Township police shot Sircar Brown, 28, of Lansdale, multiple times during a confrontation on June 17 in a residential backyard.
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A Hatfield Township police officer’s nonfatal shooting last month of a 28-year-old man allegedly armed with a knife has been ruled a lawful use of force, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele announced Friday.
The officer shot Sircar Brown, of Lansdale, multiple times during a confrontation on June 17 in a residential backyard. Steele said Brown was listed in stable condition at Grand View Hospital in Bucks County.
Brown was ordered “in excess of 60 times” by the officers to drop the knife, but Brown refused and advanced at one of them, Steele said.
Early in the morning on June 17, Hatfield police responded to a 911 call from a resident about a suspicious man who had run through the resident’s property and was hiding in a neighbor’s backyard, Steele said. There had been an earlier report of a suspicious person in the area but police did not find anyone.
An officer located Brown between two rows of stacked firewood and ordered him to come out and show his hands, Steele said.
Brown allegedly did not comply and the officer fired a Taser. Brown stood up wielding a knife and advanced at the officer, who then fired his service revolver and struck Brown, prosecutors said.
Steele said Brown continued to advance and the officer, who has not been named, fired more shots, hitting Brown. The investigation of the shooting was conducted by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau.
Steele said in a statement: “Our investigation determined the facts of this case supported the use of deadly force and therefore did not warrant any criminal charge against the officer involved.”
At the time, Brown was being sought on an arrest warrant for unauthorized use of a vehicle related to a June 4 arrest.
On June 4, Brown allegedly was found unresponsive in the driver’s seat of a running vehicle with a loaded gun and a knife on the passenger seat, Steele said. Brown allegedly assaulted a paramedic who was trying to revive him. Brown was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and gun offenses. Brown later was charged with unauthorized use of the vehicle.