The Hampden County District Attorney's office in Massachusetts has concluded its investigation into an officer-involved shooting in February that ultimately resulted in the death of William Tisdol, of Hartford.
Hampden County District Attorney Gulluni said that officers acted in the lawful exercise of their duties and determined that necessary and reasonable force was used in both self defense and defense of others.
“Mr. Tisdol’s actions dictated the course of events and the reasonable and necessary use of lethal force by the troopers. There is clear and copious evidence that Mr. Tisdol accessed, pointed, and fired his gun at troopers. The entirety of the amassed, uncontroverted evidence all stand clearly in agreement that the use of force by the troopers was an unavoidable last resort, to which they arrived after issuing numerous verbal commands and then were fired upon by Mr. Tisdol. Their actions comport with the policies of the Massachusetts State Police and with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," District Attorney Gulluni said in a statement.
According to District Attorney Gulluni, Tisdol had been involved in a confrontation with someone at a gaming table inside the MGM Springfield Casino and threatened to shoot the person.
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Tisdol left the casino on foot and tried to elude officers when they approached him in the area of Main and Union streets.
After attempting to take him into custody, troopers informed Tisdol that they would deploy a stun gun.
That's when, Gulluni said, Tisdol turned around and shot at troopers, who subsequently returned fire, with one shot striking Tisdol in the chest. He was taken to Baystate Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
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The office of the chief medical examiner determined that Tisdol had died as a result of the single gunshot wound he had sustained during the incident.
