Inquest unlikely for fatal New Kensington shooting

Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha said Wednesday it is unlikely he will convene an inquest into a police-involved shooting this month in New Kensington that left a Lower Burrell man dead.

“It looks like it is rather justified at this point,” Bacha said.

Marc N. Morgan, 62, was killed March 13 by police as he walked up Center Avenue near Fourth Street. Morgan pointed a shotgun at officers who responded to a 911 call, according to the coroner’s report. Police from New Kensington, Arnold and Lower Burrell responded to the call.

Bacha said he will make a final decision on an inquest after reviewing details of the ongoing investigation into the shooting.

Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck said the investigation is nearing completion but he won’t release details about the shooting until a final report is generated by detectives. On Wednesday, he declined to reveal how many times Morgan was shot, whether one or more police officers discharged their weapons or whether Morgan fired the shotgun.

“We’re still trying to get a complete picture of what happened that day,” Peck said.

Investigators interviewed about 20 witnesses, and detectives are waiting to receive final autopsy and toxicology reports. Toxicology findings, expected to determine whether Morgan was drunk or had drugs in his system at the time of the shooting, will be a significant factor in making a final determination about whether police acted properly, Peck said.

Bacha, since taking office in 2002, has convened nine inquests, including eight for incidents in which police officers shot and killed a civilian. In each of those cases, Bacha determined lethal force was justified and recommended no criminal charges against the police officers.

The last inquest conducted by the coroner’s office was in 2015 and involved the fatal shooting of a man a year earlier in front of Hempfield Towers. Bacha ruled state police were justified in shooting 41-year-old Rodney Golden as he attempted to flee from an apartment where he was accused of killing his girlfriend.

Bacha declined to conduct an inquest last year in the case of a mentally disabled woman who was gunned down by Greensburg police after brandishing a weapon while standing on the front porch of her home.

“The (police-involved shootings) we haven’t done have been so obvious (that it’s justified), it would be a waste of time and taxpayers’ money,” Bacha said.