![The suspect brings two knives to a shootout he started with a mass state agent [VIDEO]](https://www.redvoicemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024.01.13-11.06-redvoicemedia-65a26ea05e9d5.jpg)
HANCOCK, MASS. – The Berkshire County District Attorney's Office has announced that it will not bring charges against the state trooper involved in the fatal shooting of a gunman in Hancock earlier this month. At a press conference held Friday, the district attorney's office stated that the investigation will be officially closed pending the release of the final autopsy report.
The incident occurred on Saturday, September 9, at approximately 7:00 a.m. on Richmond Road in Hancock, Massachusetts. Authorities have revealed that Phillip Henault deliberately made a bogus 9-1-1 call to lure law enforcement to his residence. Berkshire County Prosecutor Timothy Shugrue described the call as an attempt by Henault to instigate a situation in which police would take their own lives.
The 9-1-1 call captured Henault's desperate plea to the operator, saying, “My brother came at me with two knives and I'm locked in the bathroom. Can you send somebody right away?”
Footage from the body camera of one of the Massachusetts state troopers, William Munch, reveals the intense confrontation. When Trooper Munch entered the garage where Henault was with two butcher knives, he immediately ordered Henault to drop the weapons. Despite the trooper's repeated commands, Henault advanced toward him onto the front lawn. In an effort to protect himself and others, Trooper Munch fired his weapon, striking Henault in the torso and lower abdomen.
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District Attorney Sugrue emphasized the absence of any other viable option for the trooper in this life-threatening situation. “There was no other objectively reasonable means that the trooper could have used at that time to effectively protect himself and anyone in the home or the public,” he said. Sugrue further explained that the soldier, by virtue of his obligations, was obliged to deal with the threat without the option of retreating.
Despite immediate life-saving measures, Henault tragically succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
Based on the initial findings, the district attorney concluded: “This report finds that the police officer's decision to fire his weapon at Mr. Henault under these preceding circumstances constitutes the lawful and reasonable exercise of self-defense in the defense of others. Therefore, criminal charges are not warranted, and this investigation is closed, pending the official autopsy report.”
The release of the video footage illustrates the justified actions the state trooper took in this challenging and potentially deadly encounter. As the investigation draws to a close, questions surrounding this tragic incident have been addressed, bringing some closure to the Hancock community and law enforcement.
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