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“The dispatch reports police received were that the man left his house to kill anybody he encountered, and when he encountered a police officer," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said. "The evidence is that he tried to do just that."
Bartholomew was found with a samurai sword by Upper Perk police at 8th Street and Long Alley, after one of his family members called 9-1-1 saying he was threatening to harm others around 7:40 p.m. on Feb. 9, authorities said.
"What's up, mother f***er?" Bartholomew allegedly said to the officer while brandishing the weapon.
The officer took out his gun and told Bartholomew to “put it down" repeatedly, but Bartholomew refused -- and instead charged the officer with the sword, Steele said.
That's when the officer fired three shots, striking Bartholomew twice before he fell to the ground, still clutching the sword, Steele said.
Police officers removed the 23-inch sword and immediately rendered first aid to Bartholomew, who was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene, Steele said.
Home surveillance footage showed there was a five-second period from between the time the officer yelled twice for Bartholomew to put down the sword and the three shots were fired, Steele said.
An autopsy performed on Bartholomew by Dr. Frederick Hellman, a forensic pathologist with the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office on Feb. 10 revealed that Bartholomew died of gunshot wounds to the upper left chest and upper left arm, Steele said.
“The Upper Perk police officer acted by discharging his firearm to put a stop to a lethal threat," Steele said. "Our investigation determined the facts of this case supported the use of deadly force.”
The investigation of the shooting was independently conducted by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau with cooperation from the Upper Perk Police Department.
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