Police justified in deadly Harrisburg shooting, DA rules

HARRISBURG - The Harrisburg police officer whose fatal shooting of a young black man this summer sparked protests will not be charged with a crime, Dauphin County's top prosecutor said Monday.

District Attorney Ed Marsico said an investigation determined that Officer Tony Elliott was justified in the Aug. 7 shooting of 20-year-old Earl "Shaleek" Pinckney, because Pinckney was holding had been holding a knife to his mother's throat and the officer believed her life was in danger.

"The officer is justified in using deadly force to protect someone else if the officer reasonably believed deadly force is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to the other person," Marsico said at a news conference to announce the findings. "Here, under Pennsylvania law, the officer's actions are justified under these circumstances, and no criminal charge, especially no criminal intent, could be proven."

He said the shooting, at a home two miles from the Capitol, was a tragedy and noted that both Pinckney's mother, Kim Thomas, and his probation officer said the young man had mental health problems.

"We really need to do more when someone like Kim Thomas reaches out," he said.

James Ellison, a lawyer for Pinckney's family, said the family is processing the outcome of the district attorney's investigation, but believes the officer should have been charged.

Pickney's mother "continues to maintain that it was unnecessary for her son to have died under those circumstances," Ellison said.

He said the family has not discussed the possibility of a lawsuit.

Harrisburg Police Chief Thomas Carter said Elliott had not yet returned to work.

Occurring in the wake of other high-profile police shootings this year, Pinckney's death prompted two marches in Harrisburg, with some protesters saying police could have avoided deadly force and others rallying against racism in policing.

Andy Hoover, legislative director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said he has no information that would cast doubt on the truthfulness of the district attorney's findings, but he also understands why certain communities are skeptical of the police.

"There's a divide there that has to be bridged somehow, so that even when an officer is justified in doing something, there's at least some trust between the people who are being policed and the police and the institutions that back them up," Hoover said.

klangley@post-gazette.com

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@karen_langley