Driver in state police shooting sentenced

WEST CHESTER >> The Coatesville man whose drunken flight from police indirectly exposed a rift between state police troopers and Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan has been sentenced to state prison for the episode, during which troopers fired their weapons at his car as he tried to flee.

Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Sommer on Wednesday sentenced Brian Touchton to 2 1/2 to five years incarceration for the charges of fleeing and eluding police and recklessly endangering another person stemming from the May 2018 incident. He also sentenced Touchton to consecutive terms of six months to 23 months for driving under the influence and driving under suspension, DUI related.

The terms of the sentence had been worked out between Assistant District Attorney Christoper Miller, who prosecuted the case,

and Touchton’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Meredith Copeland, who presented the terms to Sommer for his approval. Touchton had pleaded guilty in February.

Touchton, addressing the court, said that the months he had spent in Chester County Prison since his arrest had given him the ability to stay sober, something he had been unable to do since he was released from prison for a 2009 arrest on similar charges. He said he had been attending inprison counseling session and hoped to continue.

Sommer agreed to recommend that Touchton be

incarcerated at the state correctional institution in Chester, Delaware County, which has special programs for those suffering from drug and alcohol addictions.

Touchton was the driver of a Saturn sedan that caught the attention of state troopers around 11:20 p.m. on May 23, 2018 while traveling on Route 1 in southern Chester County. The pair tried to pull the Saturn over at Route 796, but the vehicle, although it fist slowed, sped away. The troopers gave chase, and were eventually joined by other patrol cars.

The chase wound through secondary, rural roads with speeds as high as 80 mph. The troopers tried unsuccessfully to box the Saturn in but failed. The Saturn

eventually turned into the parking area of the Nutra Soils lot in London Grove, a company that stores mushroom compost.

The troopers in three patrol cars attempted to contain the Saturn, but it drove around the lot and at some point stopped. Troopers drew their weapons and ordered the driver, later identified as Touchton, to exit the car, but he managed to put his car in reverse and drive away.

As he did so, two of the troopers fired their weapons at the car, hoping to disable it. Another, thinking the driver had fired shots at his fellow officers, also fired at the car as it drove past him. None of the eight shots fired during the encounter struck Touchton. The Saturn left the Nutra

Soils lot, turned onto Baltimore Pike, and attempted to drive away but eventually became entangled in brush along the roadway and stopped. Touchton then surrendered.

The matter became complicated when a state police supervisor, Lt. Brandon Daniels, called for other state police units to come to the scene to investigate the officer-involved shooting that had occurred. This despite Hogan having initiated a policy among local law enforcement departments in the county that mandated that such incidents should be investigated by an independent agency, namely the Chester County Detectives.

The state police, however, had not signed off on the new policy, and began

their own investigation. It was not until hours had gone by that the DA’s Office was notified of the shooting.

Angered at what he saw as insubordination, Hogan, after the detectives had finished their probe and cleared the troopers of any wrongdoing in the shooting, sent a memo to state police officials in Lancaster and Harrisburg, as well as the state’s director of Homeland Security, in which he stated that Daniels had been placed on a “do not call” list, instructing his office not to use the veteran trooper in any court proceedings because of his alleged insubordination.

The state police troopers’ union and Daniels both sued Hogan for the action,

saying it violated his dueprocess rights. The suit is still pending before Common Pleas Judge Edward Griffith.

In April, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge that serves state troopers in the county announced that it would endorse Hogan’s Democratic opponent in the race for district attorney, former county prosecutor Deb Ryan, an unprecedented step.

On July 3, Hogan announced abruptly that he was withdrawing from the race for DA.

Although Touchton’s sentence essentially calls for three years in prison, he will be eligible for a reentry program that could see the minimum amount of time he spends in jail cut to 35 months.