Allen County prosecutor: Police justified for 2 fatal shootings

ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) – Police officers involved in two separate shootings this year in Fort Wayne and New Haven were justified in their actions, the Allen County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office determined.

The prosecutor’s office announced Friday it reviewed two investigations: one from April 27 at a mobile home park in New Haven, and a viral traffic stop from June 22.

In the April shooting, three officers with the New Haven Police Department were involved in the killing of Robert Vicena , 37. Police had responded to a mobile home on Moeller Road for reports of domestic battery, and two officers were attacked with a knife while trying to take Vicena into custody. Police then fatally shot Vicena.

The team of attorneys said Friday they determined there was no evidence that the officers involved in the shooting were criminally liable.

In June, a Fort Wayne police officer shot and killed 22-year-old Linzell Parhm , a passenger in a car that was pulled over at an intersection on the city’s southeast side. FWPD released bodycam footage of the encounte r in which the officer can be heard telling Parhm not to reach for a gun and to keep his hands on the dash. The officer fired shots seconds later.

The prosecutor’s office reviewed that investigation and again ruled there was no evidence that the officer was criminally liable.

In each press release, the prosecutor’s office said it “reasonably believed that force was necessary to prevent serious bodily injury or death to [the officers] and/or citizens of this community.”

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