District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced the conclusion of the investigation in a Jan. 11, officer-involved shooting that occurred in Allentown.

This investigation found that the officer’s use of force was justified. His actions were reasonable both objectively and subjectively. The DA said the woman who was struck posed an imminent risk of harm to the officer as well as to two Allentown EMS medics, a hospital security guard and arguably herself.

The officer gave repeated clear commands for the woman to drop a knife she was holding, Holihan said in a release.

The force used was limited to that which was necessary to end the threat and was effective in doing so.

“Additionally, the officer attempted to use less than lethal force but was unable to do so because of the actions of the woman,” the release said.

He did not release the name of the officer or the 29-year-old suspect.

She was shot and wounded in the incident that occurred at 5:50 p.m. on Jan. 11, at the former Good Shepherd Hospital, 850 S. 5th St., in Allentown.

According to the report,

A security guard was working at the former Good Shepherd facility and was in the lobby when he heard knocking on the window. He saw the woman outside and she asked him to call EMS and claimed she was being abused. The guard described her as “stressed, panicked and anxious.”

The guard allowed the woman into the lobby and he called Allentown EMS. When EMS arrived, he met them as well as the Allentown Police officer and told them what the woman had said. He led two EMS workers and the officer into the lobby at which time the woman stood up with a knife in her hand.

The officer’s body-worn camera footage shows he gave 16 clear verbal commands to the woman to drop the knife and she complied with none of those commands. Instead, the woman responded by waving the knife around and moving close to the officer and first responders while making statements like, “It’s just a knife,” and “Are you serious?”

As the woman moved toward the officer, he moved closer to the exit and entryway.

The woman was then at a counter near the entrance lobby area going through a white box of her possessions with her back turned to the officer.

Before he could transition to his Taser, the woman turned back toward the officer with the knife in one hand and a device in her other hand that appeared to be either a gun, Taser or another type f weapon. The officer described it as a yellow and black object that had a handle and a trigger

on it.

The woman moved toward the officer with the object in her right hand and extended it in what the office described as a “firing manner.” Believing the object was a Taser or some kind of weapon that could incapacitate him, he fired one round from his handgun. The round struck the woman in the pelvis area and knocked her to the ground. She tossed the object away as well as the knife that she had initially approached the first responders with. The woman said several

times, “That wasn’t a gun.”

The officer and the two medics approached the woman to ensure she had no additional weapons

and all three first responders provided emergency medical treatment to her. The woman survived her injuries.

The object that the woman had in her right hand and pointed at the officer was ultimately found not to be a Taser, but a digital infrared non-contact thermometer, also known as a “temperature gun.” It resembles a Taser in many aspects including size, shape and color scheme.