Bristol Borough officer justified in shooting driver

A Bristol Borough officer was justified in fatally shooting a drunken, 69-year-old motorist who had slashed at police with a knife, Bucks County District Attorney Michelle Henry said Thursday.

Charles Smith, a small man partially paralyzed by a stroke, had swung a kitchen knife with an eight-inch blade at the officers, Henry said.

Officer Carlos Rivera killed Smith with a single gunshot to the chest as Smith struggled with two other officers trying to disarm and remove him from his idling Chevrolet Blazer. The officers had been summoned after Smith struck several parked vehicles while driving drunk, Henry said.

The April 9 shooting happened less than two blocks from where Smith had been living with a niece. His blood-alcohol content was 0.22 percent, nearly three times the legal limit, and police found nine unopened beers and 11 empties in the Blazer.

Three officers approached the Blazer behind Bristol Middle-Senior High School. When Smith refused to open the door or show his hands, an officer used his flashlight to break the driver-side window, reaching in for the keys, Henry said.

Smith then grabbed a knife and slashed at the officer, narrowly missing his neck, the district attorney said. As the officer and another struggled to control Smith, Rivera fired the fatal shot.

A 12-year veteran, Rivera "reasonably believed the other officers' lives were in danger," justifying the shooting, Henry said.

Smith had three DUI convictions and was awaiting trial on a fourth, Henry said. His license had been suspended for drunken driving and medical reasons, she said.