Officer cleared in Deshields shooting

In an April 14 Montgomery County hearing District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman officially determined that  Lieutenant Johnathan Josey, the off-duty cop who accosted Kenneth Deshields at the 7-Eleven on City Avenue, successfully carried out his responsibilities as a Philadelphia officer on the morning of March 19.

Although Josey was off duty and out of his jurisdiction, he was declared justified to "use deadly force against Deshields."

The ruling confirmed that Josey "interrupted an armed robbery in progress," and branded Deshields a felon.

Evidence gathered from interviews with witnesses, surveillance footage from around Borgia Hall, and an analysis of police reports confirmed that Deshields was indeed committing a robbery when accosted by Lt. Josey.

Although Deshields initially had his hands stuffed into the pockets of his hooded sweatshirt, he eventually produced a black and silver, Smith & Wesson, semi-automatic handgun and pointed it directly at the 7-Eleven employee behind the counter.

Upon entering the store, Josey observed Deshields behind the counter with the store employee who attempted to silently communicate the situation to Josey.

When Josey confronted Deshields and ordered him to stop, Deshields ran from the store.
While pursuing Deshields from 7-Eleven to Borgia parking lot, Josey said that he verbally identified himself as a police officer.

Lt. Josey also claimed to have fired two rounds on three separate occasions, but only directed the bullets towards the suspect when he witnessed Deshields reaching for his waistband.

When Deshields refused to relinquish his firearm, Ferman declared that Josey was justified in continuing to use deadly force.

Deshields was taken to the University of Pennsylvania Hospital for emergency care, but was pronounced dead at 3:45 a.m.­­

The full report of Ferman's ruling may be found online here.