48°
“I have concluded that [the officers] were reasonable in their individual beliefs that both of their lives were placed in clear and present danger by Mr. Jorge Perez at the time that [the officer] shot him," Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said in a letter to Falls Township police chief Nelson Whitney.
"I, therefore, conclude that [the officer] was justified in discharging his weapon and shooting Jorge Perez, who died from his gunshot wound," he added.
Because neither officer has been charged, their names will not be released in accordance with the District Attorney's office protocol.
The incident occurred around noon on Aug. 29 inside a home in the 400 block of Federal Lane after Jorge Alberto Perez, 48, and his wife got into an argument, and she told him that their relationship was over, the DA's office said.
The wife gave her 19-year-old son a note in which she asked him to call police, authorities said.
Perez allegedly has a history of physical abuse and previously stated that the only way he was leaving the house was "five or six feet under," telling his wife, "call the cops, but I'm not coming up alive," according to investigators.
Before police arrived, he reportedly threw several knives into the kitchen sink and took a 12-inch carving knife with him downstairs.
One officer attempted to restrain Perez after he failed to respond clearly to their questions about the apparent incident, authorities said.
When the officer noticed Perez pulling out a knife, a second officer drew his service gun and ordered Perez to stop and drop the weapon, authorities said.
Perez disobeyed commands and began to move toward the officer attempting to restrain him, who described Perez's posture as an attack stance from about three feet away, according to the DA's office.
The second officer then fired one shot, striking Perez in the chest, authorities said.
The officers claimed they were afraid for their lives because Perez "appeared to plan and intend to kill both officers," the DA's office said.
No one else was injured.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bristol and receive free news updates.
