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State's Attorney Albert Peisinger, Jr. announced that his office is declining to bring charges against the deputies involved in the Harford County shooting death of John Fauver on Saturday, April 23 in Forest Hills.
Fauver, 53, was shot by a sheriff's sergeant and corporal after he was located behind CVS on Rock Spring Road following an hour-long search for him, according to the sheriff's office.
At the time of the shooting, investigators believed him to be armed with a long gun, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said at the time the shooting investigation was launched.
The investigation became something of a point of contention between Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and HCSO with the AG filing for a temporary restraining order to prevent the sheriff's office from interfering with the investigation.
The AG also said early in the investigation that the sheriff’s office also refused to provide copies of body camera footage to investigators.
In a letter to Gahler, Peisinger said that their review determined that the use of force "was both necessary and proportional, and not unreasonable under the circumstances."
Peisinger said that he is categorizing the "unfortunate incident" as a suicide by law enforcement.
"No criminal charges will be sought against any member of your agency in the death of Mr. Fauver based upon the evidence and material that was reviewed by my office."
Though no charges will be filed, Frosh said that the Independent Investigations Division (IID) of his office will continue to complete a “thorough, independent investigation, as the Maryland legislature has charged (them) to do so.”
“The investigation includes information that has not yet been requested or reviewed by the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office,” he said. "When our investigation is complete, we will present it to the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office and, when appropriate, release it to the public.”
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