Officer cleared for shooting at driver on rampage in Plymouth Twp., Pennsylvania hotel parking lot
A police officer was justified in shooting at a man who was driving directly at him during a rampage in a Plymouth Twp. hotel parking lot late last month, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said Friday.
The officer would eventually be struck by the SUV several times before the driver was taken into custody.
(The video featured above is from a previous report)
The incident occurred on Oct. 24 when a Plymouth Township police officer responded to the Doubletree Suites hotel on Fountain Road to locate a Mercedes SUV linked to multiple incidents in Montgomery County and surrounding counties.
One of those incidents included a 911 call in which the driver of the Mercedes, Dalton Janiczek, allegedly threatened to blow up a police station and harm officers.
According to investigators, the officer found the vehicle and activated his emergency lights. Janiczek began reversing and struck the police vehicle several times, the D.A.'s office said.
The officer exited his car, drew his firearm, and ordered Janiczek to stop and show his hands.
Investigators say Janiczek then accelerated toward the officer , who fired six shots through the windshield before being struck by the vehicle. The impact caused serious leg injuries and knocked the officer's firearm out of reach.
While attempting to apply a tourniquet, the officer saw the Mercedes return and allegedly attempt to run him over three more times, investigators said. The vehicle then fled the scene, later striking another police car and injuring a second officer before Janiczek was stopped and arrested.
The officer, Jake Hennessey, spent a week in the hospital and faces a long recovery. Action News was there as he was cheered on by doctors, nurses and fellow officers upon his release .
Janiczek sustained a graze wound to the head.
"This defendant used his vehicle to attempt to kill a Plymouth Township police officer and left him very seriously injured in a hotel parking lot with numerous bystanders in the area," Steele said. "The police officer shot at the driver of the vehicle to end the threat to his own life and to end the threat to bystanders in the area. Our investigation determined the facts of this case supported the use of deadly force by the police officer."
The Montgomery County Detective Bureau conducted the investigation, which included interviews with officers and witnesses, review of bodycam and dashcam footage, bystander video, and collection of on-scene evidence.
