Washington County Coroner S. Timothy Warco has scheduled an Oct. 24 inquest as he investigates the death of a Coraopolis man shot by police following an April 2 chase.
The chase ended in the death of Eduardo L. Hoover, Jr., 38, in the 1000 block of Jefferson Avenue in the city of Washington, Warco said.
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh earlier told Tribune-Review news partner WTAE-TV that two Smith Township police officers involved in the shooting death of the suspect were justified in their actions.
Hoover was shot while accelerating his vehicle toward police, investigators said. Walsh said the officers and the community were in danger at the time the shots were fired.
Warco said, as coroner, he is charged with investigating any death that “arises from the involvement of police or other law enforcement authorities.”
The coroner said it is also his duty to “determine the identity of the person… responsible for Mr. Hoover’s death, whether there is criminal liability resulting from the death, and whether the person causing the death was justified or not justified in the use of lethal force.”
The chase started in Mt. Pleasant Township and continued on Route 18 toward Washington, with officers from that township also involved in the pursuit, authorities said. Emergency crews were called to the scene of the shooting at about 5:45 p.m.
The inquest is set to begin at 10 a.m. in the public meeting room of the Washington County Crossroads Center in Washington.
