Officer exonerated in killing of armed, distraught Franklin man By Danielle Williamson/ Daily News Staff Thursday, November 16, 2006
FRANKLIN -- The police officer who killed an armed man in a standoff last month was justified in using lethal force because of the "imminent danger of death to officers," according to the Norfolk County district attorney. In a statement released yesterday, Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating exonerated the officer who shot 42-year-old Lawrence McCarthy on Oct. 15 after hours of trying to get McCarthy to surrender his weapons. Distraught after his wife served him with divorce papers, McCarthy pointed a semiautomatic scoped rifle at police before he was shot outside his Chestnut Street home, the investigation revealed. McCarthy's wife and children were not at home during the standoff. "The circumstances of this incident make clear that the use of lethal force in this instance was warranted for the public safety and justified as a matter of law," Keating said in the release. Keating's office reviewed more than 100 pages of police reports and interviewed more than a dozen officers, family members and others who had contact with McCarthy in the days and hours before his death. The officer, who authorities have declined to identify by name, returned to work this week, according to Police Chief Stephen Williams. The 12-year veteran of the force and regional SWAT team member was on paid administrative leave while the DA's office investigated the shooting. Investigating the use of force is part of the district attorney's protocol after an officer uses his weapon. It is also routine for police departments to place officers on leave after such incidents. "It has never been our practice to release the name of a subject of an investigation unless and until they are charged criminally," said David Traub, spokesman for Keating. Williams said the last few weeks have been trying for his department as well as the McCarthy family. Besides his wife, Tammy, McCarthy leaves a 13-year-old son, a 7-year-old daughter, his parents, brothers and sisters. Family members are speaking to the media through their Franklin lawyer, Melanie Feuerstein. "This has just been an unimaginable set of circumstances," said Feuerstein, Tammy McCarthy's lawyer. Feuerstein declined to comment on whether the McCarthys planned to file a wrongful death suit. She said she had not yet reviewed Keating's report. "We're keeping the McCarthy family in our thoughts and prayers," Williams said. "I want the healing process to begin." Franklin Police became acquainted with McCarthy on a Sunday afternoon, the day of his death. Two days earlier, Tammy McCarthy had served the self-employed home improvement worker with divorce papers. At 1:20 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, Tammy McCarthy contacted Franklin Police with her concerns about her husband's behavior and requested an emergency restraining order, Keating's investigation showed. When called at 3 p.m., McCarthy told police he would resist any such order, Keating's investigation found. At 3:30 p.m., a Superior Court judge issued the emergency order, which demanded McCarthy leave his home and turn in his weapons, which Keating said included a 12-gauge shotgun and two rifles with scopes. Twenty minutes later, a confidant of McCarthy's went to the police station and said he had just seen his friend "loading firearms, putting a gas mask at the ready, and making menacing statements relative to police," Keating's release noted. Franklin and area police, including the the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council Special Weapons and Tactics Team of which Franklin is a member, started evacuating McCarthy's neighbors and securing an area near his house. At 5:05 p.m., a crisis negotiator from the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council made the first of "numerous telephonic contacts," with McCarthy, according to the release. Negotiators tried for 35 minutes to get McCarthy to surrender, investigators found. At 5:40 p.m., McCarthy told the lead crisis negotiator he was readying his firearm and would come out of his house in two minutes, Keating's office said. McCarthy emerged from a cellar door, holding what police later determined to be a 30-06 Remington, Model 742 semiautomatic scoped rifle. He raised it to his shoulder in a firing position and aimed it at police who were positioned in his back yard, investigators determined. The Franklin officer fired one round at McCarthy's upper body, killing him, Keating's office said. According to Keating, the rifle McCarthy raised toward police had one round chambered and three additional rounds contained within its magazine. Police said they secured his other two weapons, the gas mask and ammunition. "You train for this type of incident throughout your entire career and hope it never comes," Williams said. A fund has been established for McCarthy's children. Donations may be made to the McCarthy Children's Education Fund, c/o Ben Franklin Bank, 58 Main St., PO Box 309, Franklin, MA 02038. Danielle Williamson can be reached at 508-634-7552 or dwilliam@cnc.com.
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