The Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office completed its review of the use of deadly force that resulted in the death of Santiago Gutierrez on December 10, 2024. This review was limited to whether the actions of the officers involved violated the criminal law. As in all such cases, we did not examine whether the use of force was otherwise proper, including whether it violated any department policy or created non-criminal liability. We had the benefit of a comprehensive investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division of the District Attorney’s Office. The investigation produced thorough reports and numerous recorded interviews.  There was also a substantial amount of video evidence from various officers’ body worn cameras, police MVRs, and the interior cab video from the truck Gutierrez was driving.  In total, three Harrisburg Bureau of Police officers and one Penbrook Borough Police officer fired their weapons. All four officers who fired shots gave detailed statements to county detectives. The other police officers at the scene also gave detailed statements.

 At the time of the shooting, Gutierrez was the subject of an arrest warrant for a murder that was committed on Swatara Street in the City of Harrisburg on December 8, 2024. In the prior incident, Gutierrez shot another individual with a handgun and then fled the scene with the gun. 

In the mid-morning hours of December 10, 2024, Penbrook Borough Police received information from a known, reliable informant. The caller indicated that the suspect from the murder on December 8, Santiago Gutierrez, was driving a white tractor trailer cab in an area near the boundary between Penbrook and the City of Harrisburg.  The caller stated that Gutierrez was likely to be armed. Penbrook officers continued to receive information by telephone about Gutierrez’s movements in the truck as they responded to the scene. They also contacted the United States Marshals Service and confirmed that they had a murder warrant for Santiago Gutierrez.

As they responded, Penbrook officers communicated with the Dauphin County Communications Center. The Communications Center dispatched officers from the Harrisburg Bureau of Police to Gutierrez’s location. While stopped near Herr and Cameron Streets, Penbrook officers saw the suspect truck turn onto Cameron Street and drive northbound. They followed it up Cameron Street, where it turned into the parking lot of Albright’s Tire Service on the east side of the 1600 block of Cameron Street. This action was consistent with the information provided by the caller. 

As they arrived at the scene, uniformed officers positioned their marked police vehicles to block in the tractor trailer cab. One Harrisburg officer positioned his marked police unit directly in front of Gutierrez’s truck. Another positioned his marked police unit behind that truck.

One of the uniformed officers went on foot to the area adjacent to the driver’s side of the vehicle.  He was holding his duty rifle at that time. The officers noticed that Gutierrez had on a mask that was partially obstructing his face. That information was consistent with the information the caller had provided. The officer on the side of the truck observed Gutierrez making movements that appeared as if he was reaching for something within the truck cab.

Harrisburg officers began to shout commands to Gutierrez to show his hands and get out of the vehicle.  Ignoring those commands, Gutierrez put the truck cab in reverse, and then he plowed through a Harrisburg Police vehicle. Gutierrez then drove towards Cameron Street. In the process, Gutierrez drove towards another uniformed Harrisburg Police officer, who had arrived on scene, and was approaching the truck on foot. Fearing for the safety of that officer, as well as the public if a murder suspect fleeing in a tractor trailer cab escaped, one of the Harrisburg officers began to fire at the cab of the truck with his duty rifle. While Gutierrez was driving onto Cameron Street, he pointed a loaded handgun out of his driver’s window towards the officers and attempted to fire. Upon seeing this, a Penbrook officer yelled, “Gun!” and then started firing his rifle at the truck cab. That Penbrook officer was on the driver’s side of the truck at that time. A fourth Harrisburg officer, who was on foot on Cameron Street in the path where Gutierrez was trying to drive, began firing at the truck cab with his duty handgun. The Harrisburg officer who was nearly struck by the truck also fired his duty handgun at the truck cab from a position towards the rear of the driver’s side of the truck. Several shots struck the driver’s door area on the truck, and penetrated the truck, striking Gutierrez on the left side of his torso, left arm and left leg, causing him to drop his gun on the floor.

The officers ceased firing and shouted commands at Gutierrez to stop the truck and refrain from reaching for things. Instead of complying, Gutierrez picked up the gun that was on the floor of the cab, causing the officers to fire more shots. Realizing that the magazine on his rifle was emptied, one of the first Harrisburg police officers to have arrived took out his duty handgun and began to fire at the truck with it. One of his shots struck Gutierrez in the eye area and penetrated Gutierrez’s brain, killing him.

Police sent the handgun that was used by Gutierrez during this incident to the Pennsylvania State Police for testing by their Firearm and Tool Mark Section.  PSP was already in possession of the spent cartridge cases from the December 8, 2024, murder scene. The laboratory matched the cartridge case from the December 8^th murder scene to the pistol used by Gutierrez on December 10, 2024.

Each officer who fired did so under the belief that Gutierrez posed an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury to themselves, other officers, or to the public if allowed to escape. The totality of the evidence in this case supports the reasonableness of the officers’ belief that deadly force was justified. The radio communications received before they encountered the truck in the parking lot made clear that Gutierrez was wanted for murder.  He failed to comply with clear and simple commands. Instead, attempting to escape, he used a large vehicle that would have been extremely difficult to stop if the officers allowed it to gain momentum. While attempting to flee, Gutierrez rammed a marked police vehicle and drove towards at least one uniformed officer on foot. He then pointed a loaded handgun at the officers who were trying to prevent him from escaping.  It was clear from the camera footage from the interior of the truck cab that Gutierrez intended to shoot, and he was surprised when the gun did not fire. Subsequent investigation revealed that there was no bullet in the chamber of the pistol, although the magazine within the pistol was loaded. That fact has no impact on the reasonableness of the officers’ actions since they could not know the status of the pistol. 

Under 18 Pa. C.S. §§ 505, 506 & 508, the four officers’ use of deadly force was justified. The officers who fired believed that Gutierrez presented an immediate threat to them or members of the public if deadly force was not used. Based upon the circumstances, this conclusion was reasonable. Moreover, Gutierrez intentionally created the circumstances that gave rise to the officers’ belief. This closes the criminal investigation.

In cases involving the review of the use of deadly force that do not result in criminal charges, if the name of an individual is not a public record, we do not release the names of uncharged individuals. We follow this procedure for cases involving members of the general public as well as law enforcement officers, as a matter of law. 

Francis T. Chardo, Dauphin County District Attorney