Crime

Fatal police shooting of Easton woman during wellness check deemed justified by DA’s office

The 18-page report on the incident details many factors involved in the shooting, including events leading up to the incident, the information the officers had at the time, and the attempts officers made to deescalate the situation.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn's office has deemed the shooting of Marianne Griffiths by an Easton police officer justified. Craig Walker/The Boston Globe

By Susannah Sudborough

June 15, 2023

6 minutes to read

The Bristol County District Attorney’s office has deemed the fatal shooting of an Easton woman by a police officer justified based on the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

On Feb. 5, an Easton officer shot and killed 56-year-old Marianne Griffiths after he and two other officers responded to her home at 32 Spooner St. for a wellness check.

Her son had called 911 after she told him she was suicidal, but when officers came to the home, the report said, Griffiths rebuffed officers’ efforts to help her. She instead threatened to harm the officers and aimed what appeared to be a .22-caliber rifle at them, though the rifle turned out to be a BB gun.

In the final report on the shooting, the DA’s office said the officer’s actions were justified because the information the officer had at the time suggested that Griffiths was willing to hurt him or others and that she had the means to do it.

The DA’s office also noted the officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, and that there were many other people around who were at risk of being hurt, including Griffiths’s family and other civilians.

“Based on a review of all the facts and circumstances related to this incident, there is no basis to conclude that the Easton first responding police officer committed a crime,” the report reads. “The fatal shooting of Marianne Griffiths by an Easton Police Officer was justified and was the result of Griffiths’s actions on February 5, 2023.”

What happened leading up to the Feb. 5 incident

The DA’s office interviewed Griffiths’s son, the three responding officers, the patrol officer in charge, and the three responding firefighters to piece together what happened leading up to Griffiths’s death. It also reviewed the son’s 911 call, SWAT team drone footage from the scene, Griffiths’s mental health background, and the specs of the air rifle she brandished during the incident.

Prior to Feb. 5, the report said, Easton emergency personnel responded to Griffiths’s Spooner Street home four times after she was reported to be suicidal. The first was in 2010, and the last one before February was in 2018.

During an interview after Griffiths’ death, the report said, her son told authorities that Griffiths “had always been a mess,” had “every health problem on the books,” both physical and mental, and that she was on a lot of medication. Additionally, her son told authorities that her best friend died in September 2022, and that her son had died in a car crash on Dec. 31, 2022.

The toxicology report from Griffiths’ autopsy found that Griffiths had a blood-alcohol level of between .14 and .18 when she died and had also taken her prescribed benzodiazepines, the report said. Experts say that mixing these two drugs can result in cognitive problems, including impaired judgment.

The 911 call

Around 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 5, Griffiths’ son, an Ashland resident, called 911 and said Griffiths was in the basement of the Spooner Street house and had taken “20 pens of insulin,” which can be fatal, in an attempt to kill herself, the report said.

Griffiths’ toxicology report later revealed that she had not taken insulin, but that there were insulin pens in the basement with her at the time, the report said.

The son told the dispatcher Griffiths had called him to tell him she was suicidal and that he was not in the home with her, but that his grandparents, Griffiths’ parents, were in the home. The report said the dispatcher asked him if she was violent or had access to a weapon, and he said no.

Griffiths’ son called his mother back after talking to the dispatcher, and at this point, police had made it to the home, the report said. Griffiths then told her son she was going to “commit suicide by cop” and hung up the phone.

Griffiths’ son told authorities that he then knew his mother would portray her BB gun, a Daisy Powerline 901 Air Rifle which is matte black and has no visual indicators of being a BB gun, as a real gun, the report said.

In response, he drove to her home with his father and repeatedly called his mother, but his calls went unanswered. He did not notify authorities that Griffiths said she would “commit suicide by cop,” the report said.

Police enter the home

Based on the 911 call, police, firefighters, and paramedics responded to the Spooner Street home, the report said. Initially, two police officers and two firefighters entered the home and found Griffiths’ parents upstairs. The parents told them Griffiths was in the basement and needed help.

The exact sequence of events, who said what, what was said, and where the exchanges happened differs slightly between the officers’ and firefighters’ accounts in the report. What was consistent among the accounts is that the two officers and a firefighter entered the basement with the first responding officer in front, the second responding officer next, and then the firefighter.

The first responding officer called to Griffiths to ask what was going on, and she began to point what was later revealed to be the BB gun at the officer, the report said. He responded by pushing the other officer and the firefighter up the stairs, telling them she had a gun, and telling them to get out.

The firefighters then escorted Griffiths’ parents out of the house while the officers ran upstairs and held their guns low and ready outside the basement door, the report said. At some point during all of this, an officer offered to help Griffiths and Griffiths responded by threatening to hurt the officers. She also at some point said that she wanted to die and be with her son.

Additionally, sometime after the officer realized Griffiths had a gun and before Griffiths’ parents left the home, he asked her father if there was a gun in the basement, the report said. Griffiths’ father said that there was a .22-caliber rifle in the basement.

The situation escalates further

By this time, the patrol officer in charge and the third responding officer arrived at the home. The officer-in-charge called in a SWAT team and took position on the side of the house, the report said. The third officer covered the back exit to the basement.

Soon after, Griffiths came up from the basement into the home with the gun and the two officers went outside, the report said. The officers took defensive positions around the home, and the first responding officer took a position where he could see through a storm door into the home.

Griffiths then started walking towards the front door pointing the gun at the first responding officer, the report said. He responded by shooting one shot through the storm door into her chest.

The officers tried to look through the storm door to see Griffiths’ condition, but the storm door was shattered and they couldn’t see through, the report said. They were soon relieved by the SWAT team, which called the house to try to talk to Griffiths, but she did not answer.

Eventually, the SWAT team battered down the door and sent a video drone in, which captured footage of Griffiths collapsed on the floor, the report said. A medic then ran into the house and declared her dead.

The DA’s determination

Massachusetts’s self-defense laws allow citizens to use deadly force against an attacker who is intending or likely to use deadly force against the citizen or others, the report said.

Additionally, it said, the Easton Police Department’s Use of Force Policy allows officers to use deadly force if deadly force is likely or being threatened and de-escalation techniques have been used and failed or are not viable in the situation.

In its conclusion, the DA’s report brings attention to several factors in the case.

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Firstly, the report said, the officers were not informed that Griffiths said she was trying to “commit suicide by cop.” Secondly, it said, Griffiths brandishing a gun and threatening that she might hurt herself or the officers gave them reasonable fear for their safety, the safety of Griffiths’ parents, and that of nearby civilians.

Thirdly, the report said, the officers tried to de-escalate the situation verbally and by retreating twice, but Griffiths continued to advance on them. Fourthly, it said, the officers did their best to determine if the weapon was deadly.

“Due to Griffiths’ unprovoked actions, the deadly force used in this incident was reasonable based on all the circumstances,” the report reads. “The use of force was not excessive because one shot was reasonable under the circumstances to prevent the police officer from suffering serious bodily injury and/or death and for the safety of everyone in the area.”

You can read the full report below:

Fatal police shooting of Easton woman during wellness check deemed justified by DA’s office

The 18-page report on the incident details many factors involved in the shooting, including events leading up to the incident, the information the officers had at the time, and the attempts officers made to deescalate the situation.