Parents sue state police over son’s shooting death
Troopers failed to try suicide prevention tactics, action claims.
State troopers failed to intervene or negotiate with a suicidal man before killing him outside his mother’s Lower Mount Bethel Township home in May 2017, a federal lawsuit filed by the dead man’s parents claims.
The man’s mother, who summoned state police after 47-yearold Anthony Ardo texted a threat to blow himself up, overheard one of the troopers say, “I have to make it home to see my family tonight,” before approaching Ardo, the suit claims.
Instead of attempting suicide prevention techniques, the troopers fired 11 shots at Ardo as he sat in his car trying to light a firework tied around his neck, the suit says.
Although both a state police review and a grand jury investigation found troopers Eddie Pagan and Jay Splain were justified in their use of force, the lawsuit claims the state police gave them preferential treatment in the investigation.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday on behalf of Ardo’s father, Angelo Ardo, and mother, Jean Monaghan, claims the troopers acted with reckless disregard for Anthony Ardo’s safety and used excessive force in violation of Ardo’s constitutional rights.
Attorney Matthew B. Weisberg of Morton, Delaware County, is representing Monaghan and Angelo Ardo with attorney Gary Schafkopf of Bala Cynwyd.
“Our clients intend a vigorous and aggressive prosecution of their claim,” Weisberg said.
State police spokesmen did not respond to an email or phone call Thursday.
Ardo’s killing set off a monthslong feud between Pennsylvania State Police and Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli over which agency was best able to impartially investigate the shooting.
The state police insisted its investigators would handle the case. Morganelli said that ran against recommendations of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association calling for outside agencies to probe police shootings to avoid appearances of bias.
Although both the state police and grand jury investigations found Pagan and Splain reasonably believed their lives were in danger when they used their guns, Morganelli’s probe went on to criticize the way the state police review was conducted.
The lawsuit notes the grand jury found state police waited nearly 30 days before taking the troopers’ statements, allowed them to review video from their cruisers’ dashboard cameras before making their statements, and did not question investigators, who worked in the same barracks as Splain and Pagan, to determine whether they had conflicts of interest.
The suit also notes the grand jury recommended that state troopers wear body cameras. The investigation found that the dashboard cameras did not capture the troopers’ initial interactions with Ardo because the vehicles had been turned off until shortly before the shooting.
The lack of video footage as the troopers approached Ardo and the state police handling of the investigation allowed the troopers “the ability to craft their statements in a way that would allow for a finding of justified use of deadly force,” the suit claims.
A state police explosives expert, Cpl. Michael Sponchiado, testified to the grand jury that the explosive around Ardo’s neck was similar to a firework. Sponchiado said it would have been “catastrophic” had it gone off, and would have risked setting off the car’s gas tank. A search of Ardo’s car afterward revealed a “whole trunkful of fireworks and all kinds of other explosive devices,” according to Morganelli.
The day before Ardo’s death, his mother had been granted a restraining order against him, describing drug abuse and unpredictable behavior. In her petition, Monaghan called her son “so volatile” and said he is “very violent and abusive” when high.
According to the lawsuit, Ardo returned to his mother’s house the morning of the shooting to collect his belongings and left without incident. He soon began texting suicide threats to his father. His father’s wife, Patricia Ardo, called a suicide prevention hotline and then informed Monaghan of Ardo’s threats.
Monaghan called the state police. Pagan and Splain arrived at her home on Good Road shortly before 9 a.m. and heard Ardo on the phone with his mother making threats to harm himself. Ardo arrived at his mother’s house shortly after 10 a.m.
According to the grand jury report, the troopers shot Ardo within a minute of his arrival.