A Pennsylvania cop was charged with criminal homicide Tuesday after investigators concluded she was not justified in using deadly force when she shot an unarmed man twice in the back as he lay facedown in the snow.
Lisa Joellen Mearkle had already fired her Taser, hitting 59-year-old David Kassick, when she fired two rounds from her service gun into the prone man, according to Dauphin County prosecutors. He died at the scene.
The shooting occurred after Mearkle pulled Kassick over on Feb. 2 for an expired inspection sticker, authorities said. He sped off, then stopped near his sister's home, where he had been staying.
Kassick fled on foot but was knocked over when Mearkle fired her stun gun at him. She then shot him twice in the back because, she told investigators, he did not respond when she told him to show his hands.
Investigators said the 36-year-old Hummelstown officer was not justified in using lethal force because Kassick had not displayed a weapon. Mearkle claimed she opened fire because she was afraid Kassick had a gun his front jacket pocket.
The victim's family told police he had a long history of alcohol abuse.
"David is dead and he should not be," said a statement from his family released Tuesday. "The family would like to respectfully remind the public that while David had his problems and struggled with addiction, he was loved and will be deeply missed."
Mearkle was released Tuesday on $250,000 bail.