Hatfield officer cleared in police-involved shooting

Montgomery County’s District Attorney has determined a Hatfield officer was justified when he shot and injured a 28-year-old man who refused to drop a knife after he was discovered hiding in a stack of firewood last month.

Kevin Steele said his office’s investigation found the June 17 shooting was a lawful use of force. The unidentified police officer fired and struck Sircar Brown, of Lansdale, after he refused more than 60 orders to put down a knife in his hand, according to a press release.

“After police located Brown hiding in the backyard of a Hatfield home, they repeatedly commanded him to stop and in excess of 60 times told him to drop the knife he was wielding,” Steele said. “(Brown) repeatedly refused, instead advanced at one of the officers.”

The shooting  happened around 7:30 a.m. when Hatfield police responded to a call from a Leon Drive resident that a suspicious man was seen running through his property and hiding in a neighbor’s backyard, according to police.  The department had received another suspicious male call a few hours earlier in the area, but found nothing.

An officer found Brown hiding between two rows of stacked firewood and ordered him to come out and show his hands, according to the press release.  Brown allegedly did not comply, and he was shocked with a stun gun.

Afterward he was stunned, Brown stood up with a knife in his hand and began to move toward the officer, when he was shot, according to the release.  After he was shot Brown allegedly continued moving toward the officer armed with the knife.  The officer fired a second shot and Brown fell to the ground.

Brown was transported to Grandview Hospital where he was treated for multiple gunshot wounds. He is not currently facing criminal charges related to the June 17 incident, according to a district attorney spokeswoman.

But, the Montgomery County Detectives investigation into the shooting found at the time of the shooting, Brown had an active warrant for a June 4 arrest for unauthorized use of a vehicle, aggravated assault, illegal firearms possession and other charges.

Upper Gwynedd police allege they found Brown unresponsive in the driver’s seat of a running vehicle with a loaded gun and knife on the passenger seat.  When an EMT attempted to revive Brown, he assaulted a medic, police said.

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Montgomery County DA clears Hatfield officer in police shooting