NEWTON, MASS. (WHDH) - The officers involved in the deadly shooting of a knife-wielding man in Newton have been cleared and the shooting has been ruled “justified,” authorities said.
The findings submitted Tuesday by a district court judge into the January 5, 2021 fatal shooting of Michael Conlon, 28, concluded that police were justified in opening fire.
“When [the two Newton police officers] fired their weapons, any reasonable law enforcement officer in the same position would reasonably believe that he and his fellow officers as well as others, were in imminent danger of being seriously injured or killed,” the judge wrote. “At that moment no reasonable alternative existed, except for the use of deadly force.”
District Attorney Marian Ryan chose to adopt the findings and submitted her certification of no prosecution to the court, thereby closing this investigation.
Officers responding to the 911 call that day for reports of a robbery at the Lincoln Street store around 1:45 p.m. found Conlon — who lived above the candy shop– brandishing a knife and followed him up into an apartment, Ryan announced that day.
Local and state police officers then used a beanbag shotgun and a taser to try to subdue him but were unable to do so, Ryan said. Two Newton officers then shot the suspect.
Conlon was taken to Newton-Wellesley Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. An autopsy later revealed that he had a high level of crystal meth in his system at the time of his death, according to what the judge wrote.
Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and Police Chief John Carmichael released a joint statement on Tuesday regarding the incident. It reads in part:
“As the Mayor of Newton and as the Chief of the Newton Police Department, we know the death of anyone in such circumstances is tragic, and there is a lot of healing that must take place for all of those impacted by this incident. Our hearts go out to the Conlon family as well as to our officers and their families.”
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