It is the first time in more than four decades anyone at the Genesee County Sheriff's Department can remember a deputy fatally shooting a suspect. It happened Wednesday night at a Pembroke restaurant.
In a Thursday morning news conference, Genesee County Undersheriff Christopher Swanson said deputies responded to a 911 call of a man causing a disturbance, "looking for a fight, refusing to leave, and shots being fired" in the parking lot of the Indian Falls Log Cabin restaurant on Gilmore Road.
Upon arrival, deputies confronted a man matching the suspect's description. Swanson said at least one shot was fired after deputies arrived and that they "gave numerous commands" to the man to drop the handgun, but the suspect did not comply. He was fatally shot by a deputy.
Swanson said the Sheriff's Department is conducting the internal investigation, while New York State Police have taken over the external investigation.
State Police Maj. Ed Kennedy said troopers also responded to the call. He said currently, the restaurant is "an active crime scene in the very early stages of investigation. It's a tragedy. Notifications are still being made," so the suspect's name is not yet being released.
Kennedy said no one else was injured and that State Police do not have body cameras or dash cameras. However, Swanson said Sheriff's deputies have body cams and that the footage is being reviewed.
