Following policy, investigation underway in I-83 shooting
Police investigate a crash and a death in the southbound lanes of Interstate 83 in Manchester Township.(Photo: Paul Kuehnel, York Daily Record)
State police are investigating Rasheem Singletary’s death and will then turn their findings over to York County DA Tom Kearney.
(York) — York County Coroner Pam Gay released the name of the man killed Wednesday after police say he dragged a Pennsylvania State Police trooper south on Interstate 83 during a traffic stop.
Rasheem Singletary, 26, of the 1600 block of Johnson Road, Petersburg, Virginia, had been stopped by the trooper near Exit 24, Emigsville, for a routine traffic stop just before 1:20 p.m. Tuesday, according to Gay.
His death was caused by multiple gunshot wounds, and the manner of death was ruled homicide following an autopsy Wednesday morning.
“A coroner’s determination of homicide (Death at the Hands of Another) is not necessarily the same as a legal determination of homicide,” Gay wrote in a news release.
State police in Harrisburg are investigating, according to Kyle King, spokesman for York County District Attorney Tom Kearney.
“Once that investigation is complete, it will be handed over to the DA for his review and determination as to whether or not it was justifiable,” King said.
Efforts to reach Singletary’s family on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
According to the New York State Department of Corrections, Singletary was released from a state prison there in May. He had been charged with criminal possession of a weapon. He was released on parole supervision, which would have been in effect until 2018.
During Tuesday’s traffic stop, Singletary fled in his black sedan, causing the trooper to become “stuck to the left side of the vehicle,” state police wrote in a news release. How that happened is unknown at this time, state police Cpl. Ryan Lawrence said.
Singletary dragged the trooper about three-10ths of a mile, during which he attempted to crush the trooper against the median, police said.
The trooper, fearing for his safety and the public’s safety, fired his weapon, striking and killing Singletary.
The trooper had attempted to use his Taser but never did, Lawrence said.
During the incident, Singletary reportedly struck the median with his car while attempting to flee, then hit a truck in traffic before coming to rest against the median.
Deputy Coroner Terry Meyers responded to the scene and certified Singletary’s death.
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