The Bucks County district attorney has ruled that a Middletown police officer was justified when he shot and killed a 64-year-old man last month after he came at officers with a knife.
"So far as I am concerned, this certainly appears to be a case of suicide by cop," District Attorney David Heckler said Tuesday. "I, frankly, find that distressing for police."
But one of Michael Devine's sons says he still has questions and no one from Middletown police or the DA's office has spoken to the family about the investigation.
"I haven't seen anything. I haven't talked to anybody," Tony Devine said. "All these things transpire without any insight for the families. We're kind of stuck at the mercy of whatever investigation they're doing."
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| West Lincoln Highway home where Mike Devine lived |
Heckler said he sent a letter to Middletown's police chief advising him that the Feb. 23 shooting of Devine was ruled "entirely" justified, under the circumstances.
The ruling was made after Heckler reviewed Middletown's internal investigation and a separate county detective-led investigation was concluded. Both Middletown police officers involved in the incident provided voluntary statements.
Heckler also reviewed recordings of the 911 calls that Devine made during the early morning hours, reporting a burglary in progress at his home in the 1600 block of West Lincoln Highway.
When Middletown police arrived at the home, Devine -- wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt with the hood covering his head and holding a large kitchen knife -- approached Joseph Schuck's marked SUV, Heckler said.
As Devine approached the car, he threatened to kill the patrolman, according to the DA.
Schuck "retreated" 30 feet in the patrol SUV, placing it between him and Devine. The officer got out of the car, drew his service weapon and ordered Devine to drop the knife and get on the ground, Heckler said. Devine ignored the commands and continued approaching the officer, Heckler said.
At this point, a second Middletown patrol car arrived on scene. Patrolman Joseph Buckley saw that Devine was still headed toward Schuck with the knife raised. He drew his service weapon and also ordered Devine to stop and drop the knife.
Devine then started coming toward Buckley and, when Devine was within 12 to 14 feet of the police officer, Buckley fired a single shot, Heckler said.
The bullet traveled through Devine's hand and into his chest, fatally wounding him. He was pronounced dead a short time later at St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown.
Later, police found no indication of a burglary at Devine's home.
After the shooting, Tony Devine, a Bristol Borough councilman, said his father recently had been depressed because of health problems and was worried that he was becoming a burden on the family.
His father retired about four years ago from a custodian job at Neshaminy High School because of health problems, his son said. He worked for the district for 15 years -- a job he loved, Devine said.
Michael Devine experienced chronic pain from a neck injury, Tony Devine said, but had weaned himself off prescription pain medication within the last six months. To his knowledge, his father wasn't taking painkillers, Devine said.
Heckler said there was no indication Devine was behaving "erratically," slurring his words or that he otherwise appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
After the shooting, Tony Devine said a county detective allowed him and his mother to listen to a recording of the 911 call his father made. "After hearing the tape ... it opens up more questions than anything else,' he added.
As of Tuesday, Devine said no one from the DA's office had called to tell him the shooting was ruled justified.
"To me, I'm just very shocked that all these investigations and reports are transpiring without the family being aware of anything," Devine said. "We're still mourning. You have a family who was devastated and you don't know what is going on."
Since 2009, at least seven Bucks County police officers have been involved in shootings. The most recent incident happened earlier this month, when Bensalem police shot at a 25-year-old man after he called 911, then answered the door and allegedly pointed a gun at the officers.
No one was injured in that incident. The suspect who pointed the gun, John Breese of the 1600 block of Neshaminy Valley Drive, has a preliminary hearing scheduled next month on two counts of first-degree felony aggravated assault and related charges. Heckler's office is reviewing Bensalem's reports on the shooting.
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