Police kill knife-wielding Upper St. Clair man suffering mental health crisis

Officers from three South Hills police departments opened fire on an Upper St. Clair man having a mental health crisis late Sunday, killing him after he approached them outside his home with a knife, according to Allegheny County Police officials and court records.

The man was identified in court records as Christopher Shepherd, 48, of 117 Lamar Road.

Two officers from Bethel Park and one each from Baldwin and Brentwood fired shots, Allegheny County Police spokesman Jim Madalinsky said Monday. The officers are part of a South Hills regional SWAT team.

It was not clear who fired the fatal shot.

Upper St. Clair police were notified at 2:55 p.m. Sunday of “a domestic incident with a known 48-year-old male” at Shepherd’s house at Lamar and Ivanhoe roads.

A family member and an Allegheny County mental health official consulted with each other and decided to involuntarily commit Shepherd for mental health treatment, Madalinsky said.

The consultation took place by phone, county spokeswoman Abigail Gardner told TribLive. Neither county mental health staff nor social workers were at the scene.

At 5:03 p.m., Upper St. Clair officers with an involuntary commitment order approached the house and tried to take Shepherd into custody, but Shepherd brandished a knife and threatened them, according to police.

Shepherd went inside. Officers found the doors and windows — some covered with large plywood boards — locked.

Police said they identified themselves and knocked numerous times, but Shepherd didn’t reply.

Upper St. Clair police Cpl. Cesar Chavez and Sgt. Anthony L. Oliva tried to access a window covered with plywood, but Shepherd “stuck a knife out of the plywood in an attempt to cut (the) officers,” according to a criminal complaint charging Shepherd with aggravated assault that was filed as the incident unfolded.

The officers backed off and called in the critical incident response team from the South Hills Area Council of Governments (SHACOG), Madalinsky said.

More than three hours later, just before 8:40 p.m., Shepherd exited the house brandishing a knife, Madalinsky said. As he approached the response team officers and refused commands, four officers opened fire, according to county police.

It was not clear how far Shepherd was from the officers when he was shot.

Shepherd was pronounced dead at the scene. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office had not released his name, as of Monday afternoon.

Police did not release additional details Monday about the confrontation.

The Bethel Park police officers are on paid administrative leave during the investigation by county police, according to Kimberly Weightman, a spokeswoman for the municipality. Weightman would not name the officers and declined further comment.

Officers from the Baldwin and Brentwood police departments did not return calls Monday.

Allegheny County Councilman Dan Grzybek, whose district includes Upper St. Clair, questioned how things intensified to a fatal confrontation. He said such incidents should prompt larger conversations about law enforcement’s role in mental health issues.

“Obviously, someone losing their life is a huge tragedy — how did things escalate to that point?” said Grzybek, D-Bethel Park, who took office last week.

“If someone comes out with a knife, there’s very much the chance that an officer had to take that man’s life,” he added. “But there’s a larger conversation (such as) ‘Were there ways to de-escalate?’ or ‘Was the officer the right person to send in?’ ”

Richard Garland, a member of the county’s Independent Police Review Board, knows situations can go sideways and circumstances shift dramatically on calls involving involuntary mental health treatment.

“Those are the hardest calls for a police officer to go on,” said Garland, one of the first members chosen for the police board when officials formed it in 2021. “You never know what’s going to happen … I think every police officer hates going on those calls.”

Lamar Road, a quiet residential street without sidewalks, was quiet Monday morning. Only the presence of yellow police tape strung on trees around Shepherd’s home gave any indication that something had happened.

Residents described Shepherd as a friendly man who liked to wave to neighbors he knew as they drove past his house. One woman said Shepherd’s mother purchased the home for him a few years ago, shortly before the covid-19 pandemic.

Officials with the South Hills Council of Governments forwarded questions about the incident to Upper St. Clair police. That department, in turn, referred inquiries to county police, who are leading the investigation.

The government council, a Carnegie-based nonprofit, provides services to 22 municipalities and 316,000 residents in Pittsburgh’s South Hills, an area covering about 223 square miles.