New Hope Officer Thought Gun Was Taser In Shooting: DA

NEW HOPE, PA — Bucks County's district attorney has ruled that a New Hope Police officer did not commit a crime when he shot a suspect at the department's headquarters last month.

The officer, District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said Friday, wrongly believed he was using his Taser, not his handgun, when he shot Brian Riling on March 3.

"After careful consideration, I have determined that (the officer’s) shooting of arrestee Brian Riling on March 3, 2019, was neither justified, nor criminal, but was excused," Weintraub wrote in a letter to New Hope Police Chief Michael Cummings.

Weintraub said the officer, who is not being identified because he was not charged, had the "honest but mistaken" belief that he was deploying his Taser when Riley was shot inside a jail cell.

The officer, who had been on administrative leave, retired from the department on April 10, Weintraub said.

Weintraub's office, which studied police reports, conducted interviews and viewed video footage of the shooting, said Riling was seen entering a holding cell and removing his belt, at which point a white, rectangular object that looked like a drug baggie fell from his waistband to the floor.

Riling, who had been arrested on charges of intimidation and retaliation against a victim, simple assault and other offenses, covered the item, then threw it into the cell's toilet, prosecutors say.

And officer is seen in video trying to move Riling, who is 6'4: and 240 pounds, and a struggle ensued. At that point, the officer who later shot Riling entered the cell to help the other officer, who was wrestling with Riling on a bench.

With his service firearm in hand, the second officer yelled "Taser!" before shooting Riling with the handgun. Riling fell to the floor and both officers left the cell. Riling, prosecutors said, can be seen flushing the toilet as he slumped to the ground.

Riling was treated by officers at the scene before being taken to St. Mary Medical Center, where he was held in critical condition for several days. He has since been released.

Riling had previously been charged with burglarizing his victim's home in mid-February. The officer, Weintraub said, had heard about the two arrests and had himself heard threats of violence made by Riling during a phone call with his alleged victim.

"These details are not provided as proof of criminal behavior on Riling's part, but to illustrate the mindset of the officer who shot him," Weintraub's office said in a news release.

The officer, Weintraub said, would have been justified in using his Taser to regain control of Riling inside the holding cell because of his reasonable belief the scuffle posed a danger to his fellow officer.

The DA's office investigation did reveal that the officer was wearing his Taser on his right side, in front of his handgun, which is a violation of police department policies.

Weintraub also said he considered the officer's "decades of exemplary service to the citizens of New Hope, as evidenced by dozens of commendations and letters, as compared to relatively few minor historical infractions on his service record."