BRISTOL, Va. (AP) - A special prosecutor says a fatal police shooting in Washington County was justified.
Assistant commonwealth’s attorney Gerald Gray investigated the July 8 shooting of 55-year-old Dennis Dean Morrell by Washington County sheriff’s deputies.
The Bristol Herald Courier (https://bit.ly/1xCQH6Q ) reports that Gray sent a letter Tuesday to a Washington County judge clearing the deputies of any wrongdoing. The letter says Gray found no criminal liability.
The deputies were responding to a report of an armed man barricaded inside a home.
An investigative report says Morrell was shot after he raised an automatic pistol in the direction of a deputy. The shooting followed attempts by police to communicate with Morrell.
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Previous versions of this story incorrectly identified the special prosecutor. Gerald Gray was the special prosecutor who investigated the shooting.
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Information from: Bristol Herald Courier, https://www.bristolnews.com
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