SUNBURY - A Sunbury police officer who shot a teen while the youth allegedly attempted to run over the officer last month was justified in his actions because he was protecting himself and preventing a felon from fleeing the scene, said Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Rosini.
Rosini, who issued a six-page release regarding an investigation into the shooting late Friday afternoon, also has authorized 17-year-old Naheem Reams to be charged as an adult, with one of the offenses being aggravated assault for using the vehicle as a weapon.
Juveniles can be charged as adults if they are over 15 years of age and use a deadly weapon in the commission of aggravated assault.
Reams, who suffered a gunshot wound to his abdomen during a high-speed chase shortly after 1 a.m. June 5, remains in an undisclosed juvenile detention facility. He was discharged from Geisinger Medical Center in Danville on June 25 and went before Northumberland County Judge William H. Wiest the next day for a dispositional review hearing involving a warrant issued May 20 by the county juvenile probation department. Details of the case related to the warrant have not been made public.
State police probe
Rosini, who did not identify any of the officers involved in the chase and shooting, said he has reviewed the entire state police investigation of the incident, which includes a video of the pursuit recorded on one of the police cruisers, photographs of the shooting scene, the location of Reams' vehicle and damage to the road caused by Reams driving at a high rate of speed over railroad tracks.
Also reviewed were radio transmissions from the officers to the county 911 center during the pursuit, written and recorded statements by three officers involved in the incident, notes from an interview with a civilian witness who observed the incident at Front and Chestnut streets, interviews with other parties who live in the area, laboratory reports from testing of the juvenile's blood for alcohol and controlled substances, ballistic reports on the weapon and ammunition used in the incident, medical reports on treatment of the juvenile, a juvenile probation file on Reams, reports of examinations of the vehicles involved in the chase and the vehicle operated by Reams.
Street sweeper
Rosini said evidence he reviewed reveals two Sunbury officers in a marked police car were attempting to clear the 400 block of North Fifth Street of parked vehicles for sweeper operations at 1:06 a.m. June 5 when they came upon a Saturn with its lights on parked on the west side of Fifth Street.
The district attorney said the officers pulled along side the vehicle to speak to the driver, whose window was closed. Her said the officers attempted to get the driver's attention to ask him to move the vehicle for the street sweeper to access the area. Rosini said the person, who was later identified as Reams, kept his head down and did not acknowledge the officers. The officers did not recognize Reams or his age.
The district attorney said Reams then suddenly fled from the scene at a high rate of speed in what the officers described as an extremely reckless manner.
The investigation revealed the police officers activated their lights and siren and followed the vehicle. The vehicle did not stop for a stop sign at Line and Fifth streets and sped through the intersection before turning left onto Line Street. Reams continued to drive at a high rate of speed east on Line Street and ran stop signs at three intersections before going partially airborne at two locations due to the grade of the street and high rate of speed, police said.
Reams then turned right and traveled the wrong way (south) on Fairmont Avenue and continued at speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour without slowing down or stopping at several intersections.
Rosini said the police slowed down for safety reasons when they approached Market Street. The suspect crossed Market Street without stopping and had to swerve to avoid striking a second police cruiser, which followed Reams' car.
Wrong way on Chestnut Street
Reams' Saturn then proceeded across Market Street and continued south on 10th Street to Chestnut Street without stopping and began to travel the wrong way (west) on Chestnut Street while increasing his speed to more than 70 miles per hour.
The investigation revealed Reams continued through two controlled intersections without slowing or stopping and his car became airborne over the railroad tracks located near Third Street. The officers spotted sparks when the vehicle landed and gouges were later found in the street from the car.
While Reams approached Front Street, he slowed down, which enabled the pursuing cruiser to maneuver in front of him and cut off his entrance to Front Street, which is a heavily traveled road near the downtown area.
While the cruiser pulled in front of Reams's car, Reams stopped the vehicle but struck the cruiser a few seconds later.
Rosini said it was the officer's opinion that Reams intentionally rammed the cruiser with an officer inside, causing damage to its passenger side rear.
The second cruiser pulled along side the suspect's vehicle in an attempt to prevent Reams from exiting his car and fleeing. Rosini said the officer in the passenger seat of the second cruiser began to exit his vehicle. While he was exiting, Reams sped backwards at a high rate of speed and struck the door of the cruiser, which in turn, struck the officer on his forehead and briefly pinned him between the door and door frame.
Reams's car continued backward at a high rate of speed, ascended a curb, struck a sign and hit a tree on the south side of Chestnut Street. The car then paused momentarily while the officer who was exiting the passenger side of his cruiser approached Reams' vehicle with his gun drawn. Rosini said the officer shouted several commands for the driver to get out of his vehicle, but Reams ignored the demands.
No attempt to veer
The officer was standing directly in front of Reams' Saturn on the driver's side, and the suspect began revving his engine. Reams' car then suddenly shot forward coming directly at the officer at a high rate of speed. Police said the suspect made no attempt to veer to avoid the officer. The other officers at the scene believed the officer was struck by Reams' vehicle.
The officer was able to maneuver to his right and fired one shot at Reams, striking the teen in the abdomen. The bullet exited above Reams' right hip. Rosini said the bullet traveled front to back on a left to right angle.
The bullet was subsequently recovered from the upper portion of the driver seat on the right side.
Rosini said the officer used his duty weapon, a .45-caliber Glock pistol, and standard police or law enforcement ammunition in the shooting.
Police said the suspect failed to stop after the shot was fired and continued across Chestnut Street, mounted a curb on the north side and went onto Front Street. The vehicle then traveled at an angle across Front Street before mounting a curb on the west side and coming to a halt near a tree and partially on a sidewalk in Merle Phillips Park.
Reams then exited the vehicle with his hands over his head and complied with police commands before being taken into custody.
The entire chase lasted less than five minutes, police said.
Upon observing Reams' wound, police requested an ambulance.
During the chase, police had radioed information on the incident to the 911 center and requested assistance.
The first officer at the scene had EMT training and initially treated Reams to stop his bleeding. An ambulance arrived within three minutes and transported Reams to the hospital.
A civilian witness who was on her porch at the time the vehicles arrived at Front and Chestnut streets verified the facts as the officer had presented them and said the officer had "no choice" but to shoot the driver to stop him.
When necessary
Rosini said a police officer is permitted to use deadly force when he believes it is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself or others, or stop a suspect who has committed a forcible felony offense from escaping.
"In this case, the officer had just been the subject of an assault by the driver of a motor vehicle and was injured as a result of the initial contact when the suspect backed up past him," Rosini said. "The suspect had also struck the cruiser blocking his entrance to Front Street, which was occupied by an officer. The suspect was attempting to escape and run down a police officer who was standing in front of him, demanding he exit the vehicle as a result of his reckless and dangerous driving and assaults on the officer and the striking of the police cruiser."
He added, "It is easy in the calm of daylight and comfort of our homes to Monday-morning quarterback these situations or second guess in hindsight what actions could have been taken. That is not the issue, however. A review of the officer's actions must be done with a consideration of the circumstances as they existed at the time of the incident.
"Under these circumstances, the officer was justified in using deadly force to defend himself, his fellow officers and the public who were operating vehicles on Front Street."
Rosini said attacks on police officers using a vehicle can be deadly incidents. In 2012 and the first half of 2013, he said FBI statistics show that three law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty by suspects using vehicles as deadly weapons.