A police officer in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, was justified in shooting and killing a man armed with a sword on the street in February, the county district attorney said Monday.
Upper Perk police were called shortly after 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 by a relative who said a man armed with a sword was threatening to harm others in Pennsburg, a borough in northwestern Montgomery County, authorities said.
Officers found Trey Bartholemew, 27, of Pennsburg, with “a samurai-type sword” who ignored commands to drop the weapon and charged, after which an officer fired, prosecutors said.
A 23-inch sword was recovered next to Bartholemew, police said.
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District Attorney Kevin Steele said Monday the shooting was a lawful use of force. He said police were told that the man had threatened to kill anyone he encountered, and the evidence after he encountered an officer was “that he tried to do just that.”
Steele said the officer acted to put a stop to a lethal threat, and the facts “support the use of deadly force.”
