Indiana DA finds police justified in fatal shooting

State police were justified in the fatal shooting of a 51-year-old man killed following a traffic stop last month near Homer City, Indiana County District Attorney Robert Manzi Jr. announced Wednesday.

Manzi said the monthlong investigation into the circumstances of the July 3 fatal shooting of John V. Dye determined that Pennsylvania State Police officers acted properly when they used lethal force following a 21-minute pursuit that ended in gunfire.

“It is my conclusion that the trooper’s use of force to protect his life, the lives of his fellow troopers and to stop the clear threat to the community on July 3, 2023 was justified under Pennsylvania law. It is clear that the trooper’s life was in imminent danger. It is also clear that the lives of the other troopers were in imminent danger due to the continued efforts to flee the police. My office will take no further action on this case at this time,” according to the district attorney’s statement.

Family members claimed Dye was developmentally disabled and suffered from mental illness.

His mother, Ruth Dye, 74, of Tennessee said Wednesday she was briefed on the district attorney’s findings.

“I don’t think he (her son) would do it, but I don’t know. If he ran them over, I can’t blame them,” Dye said.

Attorney Steven Barth said the Dye family is still processing the results of the investigation.

“There are no plans to challenge the (district attorney’s) decision at this point,” Barth said.

Manzi said that Dye was drunk after having attended a holiday celebration earlier in the day. Investigators said his blood alcohol level was 0.193%, three times the limit for motorists in Pennsylvania to be considered intoxicated. Marijuana was also found in his blood system, according to investigators.

The prosecutor’s office said troopers initially spotted Dye driving 1998 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck on Old Route 119 in Center Township just before midnight July 2 and attempted a traffic stop for an inoperable taillight.

According to the investigation, as a trooper approached Dye’s driver’s side window, the truck sped off. Police pursued Dye through Center Township and Homer City at speeds that exceeded 65 mph.

Police said Dye drove into opposing traffic lanes, through residential yards and business properties, failed to stop at traffic signals and almost rolled his truck during a turn.

Investigators said spike strips and blockades were deployed during the pursuit before police eventually stopped and surrounded Dye’s vehicle as it approached Blairsville on Route 119. As an officer approached the truck on foot, Dye shifted his truck into reverse and pinned a trooper against his police vehicle, according to the district attorney’s findings.

The officer fired multiple shots from his service weapon, striking and killing Dye, Manzi said.

Witnesses told investigators that Dye appeared drunk at the holiday party he attended earlier that day where friends warned him about driving while intoxicated. According to the prosecutor, Dye’s driving license was suspended related to a prior drunk driving conviction.

“Mr. Dye was confronted by a witness for driving while intoxicated. The witness told him that he could be returned to jail if he was caught. Mr. Dye said, ‘They are going to have to shoot me because I am not going back to jail,’ ” according to the investigation.

According to court records, Dye had a criminal record in Pennsylvania that dated back to 2011 when he pleaded guilty to statutory sexual assault and a DUI in Indiana County court. He was sentenced to serve 11 months to two years in prison for the sexual assault and 30 days to six months in prison for the DUI.

In 2016, Dye pleaded guilty to simple assault in Indiana County and was ordered to serve four months to one year, 11 months in prison.