The Monroe County District Attorney has cleared police in the fatal shooting of a Reeders man on June 28.

E. David Christine held a news conference Wednesday to address the Jackson Township incident.

It was reported that Pettiford was suicidal and acting manically, which led his wife to call the police. Christine said Pettiford told his wife that the cops were coming to kill him.

When the state police arrived at Pettiford’s house, he was outside with a handgun.

Pettiford, 69, fired two shots toward the police officers. He was asked to drop his weapon after the first shot. An officer fired back after the second shot, hitting Pettiford with a fatal chest shot.

Christine deemed these actions lawful and appropriate based on the circumstances.

“I have determined that when a person fires a weapon at the police after they directed him to drop it, they have but one choice to protect their own lives. As sad as it is, and as reluctant as they were, they had to use their own weapons to stop the attack. And that is exactly what happened in this case,” Christine said.

Christine considered the case closed after the news conference.

Christine said Pettiford had expressed his suicidal intentions not only verbally, but also in writing. The note was addressed to his wife, and also detailed his religious beliefs.

Neither Christine nor any of the state police knew anything of Pettiford before this incident.