CONCORD, N.H. —
State investigators said Tuesday that a fatal police shooting in Thornton last year was justified.
Officials from the New Hampshire attorney general's office said Thornton police Officer Matthew Yao was justified in using deadly force when he shot and killed 37-year-old Ethan Freeman in October 2020.
"All of the other evidence gathered from the investigation supports the conclusion that Officer Yao did reasonably believe that he faced the imminent use of deadly physical force from Mr. Freeman at the time that the officer fired his pistol," said Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinkley.
At a briefing on Tuesday, officials displayed body camera video from Yao that captured three interactions between him and Freeman that day, including the fatal encounter at Freeman's apartment.
Officials said the body cam was critical in the case because they were able to match what the officer said to investigators with what was actually seen on the video.
At the apartment, officials said, Yao encountered a naked, bloody and irrational Freeman who, while inside, was holding a broken piece of furniture. In the video, Freeman threatens to kill Yao, jumps out a window and, while unarmed, advances on him.
"Officer Yao believed that when Mr. Freeman, who he heard had threatened his life, ultimately reached him, he would attempt to take his gun and shoot him," Hinckley said.
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