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DA: Late officer justified in accidental shooting death of Blair County, Pa. corrections officer
ALTOONA, Pa. - A Pennsylvania prosecutor has ruled that a late police sergeant was justified in using deadly force that resulted in the accidental shooting death of a jail guard during a hostage situation at a county courthouse last fall.Authorities said an inmate had been taken from the Blair County jail to the courthouse in Altoona for a hearing in November when he allegedly disarmed corrections officer Rhonda Jean Russell. A police sergeant fired a shot at the inmate but hit 47-year-old Russell, a 14-year veteran who was pronounced dead at UPMC Altoona.District Attorney Pete Weeks said last week that the use of deadly force by the police sergeant, who officials said died several months later of natural causes, was justified under the law.