District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan has released his formal findings of the investigation into the death of Gary Joseph Moyer May 28 in South Whitehall Township.

In his statement, Holihan said members of the South Whitehall Township Police Department involved in this incident were designated by number one through six, although only three individuals used deadly force, one used non-deadly force and two others discussed in this release did not use force.

This incident was investigated by the District Attorney’s Office Homicide Task Force, the Pennsylvania State Police Forensic Services Unit, the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office, the Lehigh County Firearm and Tool Mark Laboratory, with assistance from the Allentown Police Department, Holihan said in the press release.

In addition to being present at the scene of the incident shortly after the use of force occurred, Holihan reviewed all relevant material such as the initial 911 call, video recordings, Lehigh County Radio transmissions, autopsy report and other related documents and material to this incident.

According to Holihan, the initial discussion regarding justification must start with an understanding of the applicable law.

“A fundamental premise of which is that the use of force, including deadly force, is justified in Pennsylvania under certain limited circumstances. Those circumstances are articulated in Chapter 5 of Title 18 of the Consolidated Statutes of Pennsylvania. The rules of justification apply to law enforcement as well as to laymen. As it pertains to the events of May 28, the applicable sections of law can be found in 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§501, 502, 505, 506, and 508,” Holihan explained in the press release. “Deadly force means force which, under the circumstances in which it is used, is readily capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. All of the SWTPD personnel involved in this incident meet the definition of a peace officer.

“When force, including deadly force, is justified, the actor using such force is not criminally responsible for the result of the use of said force. The use of non-deadly force upon or toward another person (the target) is justified when the actor using such force believes that the force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself or third parties against the use of unlawful force by the target. The use of deadly force is justified when the actor using such deadly force believes that it is necessary to protect himself or third parties against death or serious bodily injury at the hands of the target.

“In the current case, there was no requirement that any of the SWTPD personnel retreat from the situation that resulted in the use of deadly force. A police officer is justified in using deadly force when he or she believes that the use of deadly force is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself or any other person.”

Holihan said with these legal principles in mind and a full review of the facts and circumstances, he has concluded the use of force by the SWTPD was justified. No criminal charges will be filed against any SWTPD personnel for any conduct arising out of the use of force in this incident.

“A review of all the relevant evidence leads me to conclude that deadly force was used by Officers two, four and five. Further, I conclude that non-deadly force was used by Officer one. Finally, I have determined that the use of force by all members of SWTPD during this incident was justified and no charges will be filed against anyone who used force; deadly or otherwise,” Holihan stated.

“There is no question in my mind that all officers on the scene believed it was immediately necessary to use deadly force against Moyer to protect themselves and/or others against the imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. It is also clear to me that all SWTPD personnel acted with great restraint and patience as this situation unfolded. They could not have known that the rifle Moyer held was inoperable, yet they tried to de-escalate the situation and utilized less lethal force before deadly force became their only option. The officers are to be commended for their restraint and professionalism during and after the use of force.

“It is clear to me that Mr. Moyer’s demise was unfortunately death by suicide and I think it is important to acknowledge this fact.”

According to Holihan, Moyer suffered a total of seven gunshot wounds and a provisional autopsy report indicates the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.

Holihan said the coroner will record the manner of Moyer’s death as “homicide” given the restrictive definitions that he must select from, specifically “the killing of one person by another.”

“I have no argument with his classification. I appreciate his cooperation on this investigation and respect his compassionate work with the Moyer family,” Holihan said. “However, this office is not restricted by such a narrow description and when I take all the facts and circumstances into consideration, I am satisfied that Moyer’s death meets the conventional definition of suicide as an instance of intentionally caused self-destruction.”

Holihan said even with the understanding the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, he is satisfied Moyer self-initiated a sequence of behaviors expecting the set of actions he initiated would lead to his own death.

“I am further satisfied that he fully intended to die as a result of his self-directed behaviors,” he said. “While I do not believe I need to go into the supporting facts in detail, I will simply summarize that he called 911 and falsely reported himself as shooting people in the street with a rifle and then waited for officers to arrive. He then presented with the rifle and approached the officers, ignoring orders to drop the rifle while continuing to advance toward them and ultimately pointing the rifle directly at three officers. Finally, additional circumstances make his intentions clear; waiting until he was alone in the home and leaving among his final words the following: ‘Please convey my apologies to the officer who gets stuck shooting me,’” Holihan said.

“Based on the foregoing, I am closing the criminal investigation into the death of Gary Moyer with no criminal charges. I find the use of force by all involved SWTPD personnel justified. I also believe it is inaccurate and unfair to attribute this death to the officers involved,” Holihan said in the press release.