An officer-involved fatal shooting during a wellness check in February was deemed “reasonable” by the Bristol County District’s Attorney’s Office after a months-long investigation.
In a report released Thursday afternoon, the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office deemed the Feb. 5 officer-involved shooting of Marianne Griffiths, 56, of Easton, to be justified and in agreement with the Easton Police Department’s policy on the use of deadly force.
On Feb. 5, at around 11:30 a.m., the Easton Police Department received a 911 call from a man asking for a well-being check on his mother, Griffiths, at her home at 32 Spooner St., according to the district attorney’s report.
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The son told the dispatcher that his mother just called him and originally sounded incoherent. After some time, he told the dispatcher he heard his mother say she took 20 doses of insulin and wanted to die.
First responders immediately responded to the scene after hearing of the possible overdose.
The report stated that Griffiths’ son called Griffiths back after getting off the phone with 911. Griffiths told her son that the police had just arrived and that she was going to commit “suicide by cop,” according to the district attorney’s investigation.
Officials said the officers were unable to receive that information before entering the Spooner Street home to check on Griffiths.
Two police officers and two paramedics first entered the home. Officials said an elderly couple was seen walking up the basement of the home into the kitchen.
The first responders later identified the elderly couple as Griffiths’ parents. They told the officials that Griffith was in the basement and needed help.
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Two police officers walked down the stairs and asked Griffiths how she was doing, the district attorney’s office wrote in the report.
Griffith told the officers, “I just want to [expletive deleted] die” and “I want to be with my son,” the report read.
Officials later learned that one of Griffiths’ sons had been killed in a car crash on Dec. 31, 2022.
As police officers walked down to the basement, they heard Griffiths scream: “I’m going to kill you and then myself,” the report read.
Police saw Griffiths walking in their direction with what appeared to be a rifle in her hands. First responders rushed up the stairs and the paramedics ran out of the home, according to the report.
Both officers drew their firearms and pointed them toward the basement door, they also told Griffiths’ parents to run over to their neighbor’s home.
Moments later, the officers heard Griffiths walking up the basement steps. Police chose to run outside the house and position their guns outside the door, according to the report.
Griffiths walked to the home’s front door and pointed the rifle at one of the police officers, the report said. The front door was open but the storm door was closed, officials emphasized.
One officer fired a shot at Griffiths. The bullet went through the storm door and hit her, according to the report.
The door shattering prevented police from immediately checking on Griffiths’ condition. A SWAT unit later entered the home and confirmed that Griffiths was dead.
The district attorney’s report verified she died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. The weapon Griffiths’ was holding was also confirmed to be a Daisy Powerline 901 air rifle.
“The police officers had a reasonable fear for their own safety as well as for the safety of Griffiths’s parents,” the report read. “Based on a review of all the facts and circumstances related to this incident, there is no basis to conclude that the Easton first responding police officer committed a crime. The fatal shooting of Marianne Griffiths by an Easton Police Officer was justified and was the result of Griffiths’s actions on February 5, 2023.”