AG: State Police justified in using deadly force in March shooting of armed man in New Hampshire

Police were justified in using deadly force in shooting an armed man in a Rochester neighborhood in March , the attorney general said Thursday.

Joseph Russell, 36, was shot and killed on March 8 on Gooseberry Circle in Rochester when he aimed a loaded gun at police officers, Attorney General John Formella said in a statement.

The final investigation report concluded that New Hampshire State Police Sgt. Gary Wood and Trooper Jacob Hunt "were legally justified in their individual uses of deadly force against Joseph Russell as he aimed a loaded gun at police in a residential area," Formella said.

No criminal charges will be filed against either Wood or Hunt, Formella said.

Formella said that at the time of the shooting, officers had been looking for Russell, who was wanted in connection with multiple car thefts in Rochester and Farmington and in Lebanon, Maine.

On March 8, Russell was spotted driving in Rochester, police said. Officers intercepted him on Route 16 in the area of Gooseberry Circle.

Russell, who had a firearm, abandoned the vehicle he was driving and ran away from police into a residential area on Gooseberry Circle, Formella said.

Police asked Russell to surrender, and when he did not comply, a State Police Trooper with a K-9 police dog released their K-9 partner to subdue Russell, Formella said.

Formella said Russell drew a firearm and Wood and Hunt fired bullets at Russell, who died at the scene.

A total of 17 discharged casings were recovered at the shooting scene, Formella said in his report. Those consisted of 8 Winchester .223 rifle casings and 9 Winchester .45 auto casings.

"Based on an examination of the firearms used by the involved officers, interviews, and recovered cartridge casings from the scene, investigators determined that Sergeant Wood fired his .45 caliber pistol nine times, and Trooper Hunt fired his rifle eight times," the report states.

Investigators recovered a Beretta pistol .32 next to Russell's body after the shooting. The pistol, which contained a twelve-round magazine, had eight FC 32 Auto rounds when found by investigators, the report states.

One live FC 32 Auto round was recovered on the ground beside the Beretta pistol, the report states.

Read the attorney general's final report on the officer-involved shooting here .

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