DA: Officers justified shooting armed man in Hatfield Twp., Montgomery County

HATFIELD TWP., Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Police officers were justified in shooting a man who came at them with a knife last month in Hatfield Township, Montgomery County, the district attorney's office said Friday.

That man, 28-year-old Sircar Brown of Lansdale, survived the shooting and remains hospitalized.

It all began on the morning of Friday, June 17 when officers were called to a home for a report of a suspicious man in a backyard.

Officers located the man, identified as Brown, hiding behind stacks of firewood, investigators said.

Brown was ordered to come out and show his hands and, when he didn't, investigators say the officers tased him.

But, the D.A.'s office said, Brown then stood up wielding a knife and advanced at one of the officers.

District Attorney Kevin Steele said the officers order Brown to drop the knife more than 60 times.

That's when one of the officers shot Brown, but the D.A.'s office said Brown still continued to advance so an officer shot him again.

"Our investigation determined the facts of this case supported use of deadly force and therefore did not warrant any criminal charge against the officer involved," Steele said.

At the time of the shooting, Brown was being sought for unauthorized use of a vehicle related to a previous arrest in which he allegedly assaulted an EMT.