Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan on Thursday announced the conclusion of the investigation of a May 11 death that occurred in South Whitehall Township. Holihan said the use of force by township officers was “justified and appropriate.”

Timothy Vanbilliard, 45, of Emmaus, died during an incident at the Weis Market at 1500 N. Cedar Crest Blvd. County Coroner Daniel Buglio ruled the death an accident.

The close of the investigation comes after the results of toxicology testing, done as part of an autopsy of Vanbilliard, showed a significant level of illicit controlled substances in his system at the time of his death, including methamphetamine.

Holihan said police were called to the store after Vanbilliard began acting erratically inside the store, appearing to be agitated, belligerent, uncooperative and paranoid. The DA said the man voiced his belief that the officers who responded were not “real police,” but were sent to kill him.

Over the course of several minutes, the officers attempted to de-escalate Vanbilliard, but he became more excited and uncooperative, and his speech appeared increasingly disjoined and untethered to reality, Holihan said.

When Vanbilliard began to destroy items in the store and threw a wine bottle at officers, police subdued him with a Taser.

Vanbilliard continued to physically resist the officers’ efforts to control him and was ultimately handcuffed, after which he lost consciousness.

Officers and EMS provided medical care and Vanbilliard was taken to a hospital where he was subsequently pronounced dead.

In a press release, Holihan said autopsy and toxicology testing showed the cause of death was determined to be “acute methamphetamine toxicity and hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in the setting of law enforcement subdual and restraint.”

He also suffered from substantial ongoing health issues that contributed to his death, Holihan said.

He said a review of the use of force applied by officers included a detailed evaluation of all relevant video, including video from body-worn cameras.

Holihan said the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force conducted an investigation independent of township police department and all of the investigatory materials were reviewed.

In his finding that the use of force was appropriate, Holihan said, “The level of force applied was not deadly force and was intended to protect the public, the officers and Vanbilliard himself.”

He added, “Vanbilliard’s death was not caused by the use of the Taser, nor was it caused by the force used by the officers. It is clear that the officers involved acted appropriately in their efforts to reason with Vanbilliard and de-escalate the situation. The use of less than lethal force was made necessary by the actions of Vanbilliard.”