New Castle County police officers justified in shooting at home invaders, state DOJ finds

The New Castle County Police Department officers who injured two people while responding to a home invasion near New Castle on Jan. 22 were justified in firing their weapons, according to an investigation by the Delaware Department of Justice.

The department's Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust said that the officers believed deadly force toward the four home invaders was necessary to protect the lives of nearby residents and fellow officers, as well as their own lives.

BACKGROUND: New Castle County police name man shot by officers during home invasion near New Castle

All four men involved in the home invasion are awaiting trial for felony charges including robbery, burglary, possession of a firearm and conspiracy.

What happened?

Five New Castle County Police Department officers were called to 21 W. Minuit Drive near New Castle at 1:48 a.m. on Jan. 22 for reports of a break-in, the Department of Justice said. The caller said he was in his bedroom and could hear people shouting in the living room.

Police said that four intruders — Evan Chandler, Alistair DiPasquale, Michael Edgerton and David Salasky III — held household members at gunpoint while they ransacked the home and put stolen items into bags.

One of the responding officers, Officer Sean Sweeney-Jones, said he had been called to that house before for drug overdoses and mental health calls, according to the Department of Justice.

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He told the Justice Department he initially thought this was also a mental health call, but when he saw 22-year-old DiPasquale exiting the house with a black HK MP-5 .22-caliber firearm, “everything started to slow down in his mind.”

Sweeney-Jones drew his gun and tried to give the men orders, shouting “hands, hands” and “drop it,” according to the Justice Department. When the men didn’t listen, Sweeney-Jones and fellow officer Ryan Archangelo then fired their weapons, hitting DiPasquale and Chandler.

Body camera footage shows Archangelo fired his gun five times, and the Department of Justice said that Sweeney-Jones reported firing his weapon 14 times.

In a later interview with police, DiPasquale said that officers “never said anything and just started shooting.”

RECENT INVESTIGATION: County officers' use of force justified in nonfatal September shooting, DOJ says

While Chandler and DiPasquale engaged with officers on the front porch, Edgerton and Salasky ran back into the house and fled through the back door, with Salasky attempting to climb over a tall fence. Officer Alejandro Guillen followed Salasky, telling the Department of Justice that Salasky “sort of” pointed a gun in his direction.

Guillen fired at Salasky one time, according to the Department of Justice, but did not hit Salasky. Salasky dropped his gun and was taken into custody by police. Chandler, who was shot in his upper left arm and both thighs, was taken to the hospital and then arrested.

Edgerton and DiPasquale, who was shot in his left arm, fled the scene but both were later caught.

A history of use of force

New Castle County Police Department officers have been the subject of multiple use-of-force investigations and subsequent lawsuits.

Most recently, officers who non-fatally shot 30-year-old Portia Herndon in Ogletown on Sept. 9 were found to have been justified in their use of deadly force. And on May 26, the family of a man fatally shot by New Castle County police sued the department and the county for wrongful death.

Sweeney-Jones, who was involved in the latest officer-involved shooting, has been part of two previous use-of-force investigations. The officer fatally shot 21-year-old Keith Price in 2017, and he was present at the fatal shooting of 30-year-old Lymond Moses in 2021, though he did not fire his weapon.

The Department of Justice determined that officers were justified in their use of force in both cases.

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New Castle County Police Department Chief Joseph S. Bloch said in an email to County Council members that these officer-involved shootings “weigh heavily on (his) mind every day.”

“I know that no officer ever wants to be put in a position where they are forced to make a split-second decision that could change the course of their life or someone else’s,” he wrote.

Bloch noted he has met with the families of people shot by officers and is “keenly aware of the need to conduct detailed reviews of police actions in these incidents.”

Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on Twitter at @h_edelman.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: New Castle County police shooting justified: Delaware DOJ