DA: State police justified in fatally shooting Fawn man last October

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said Wednesday that state police were justified in fatally shooting a Fawn man who brandished a gun last fall after troopers responded to a domestic disturbance report.

Zachary John Cervice, 50, was killed on Shamrock Lane as he got out of a vehicle at a remote house there.

Zappala cleared the troopers in a video briefing posted to his office’s web page and YouTube.

Cervice’s mother, when reached Wednesday morning, declined to comment.

According to Zappala, Cervice’s mother and girlfriend called state police early Oct. 31. They had fled to the Shamrock Lane location after Cervice ransacked his mother’s nearby home on Ridge Road and threatened to shoot family members who were there, his girlfriend told state police.

Troopers arrived at the Shamrock Lane house at 5:19 a.m. Two troopers remained outside, while three others went inside to interview Cervice’s girlfriend and mother.

Cervice, who had bipolar disorder, was not taking medication and was suicidal, Zappala said.

Police dashcam video shows Cervice pulling down the driveway.

“You can also see that Mr. Cervice has brought a weapon. It is an AK-47-style assault rifle, and it is strapped to Mr. Cervice’s chest, and there is a 50-round drum magazine,” Zappala said in the video.

The barrel of the weapon can be seen in police dashcam footage over the steering wheel.

In that video, Zappala said, the troopers’ commands cannot be heard. But he said they “apparently were communicated loudly enough and sufficiently in terms of number of times. We concluded, based on all the evidence, the officers were in fact justified in use of deadly force.”

“Despite the numerous commands that were given to Mr. Cervice, Mr. Cervice failed to drop his weapon, and he exits the vehicle with a weapon. In response to that, the troopers fired upon Mr. Cervice,” Zappala said.

He was struck five times and died at the scene.

“All the indications were that Mr. Cervice was armed and dangerous … and prepared to use the weapon on police officers,” Zappala said.

Zappala said Cervice’s blood alcohol level was 0.179%, more than twice the legal limit for motorists, and that he also tested positive for methamphetamine and cocaine.

The briefing, which lasted less than four minutes, does not identify the troopers involved in the shooting, provide a time frame of the incident, or address how many times Cervice was warned to drop the weapon.

Although the video shows Cervice as he opens the door of the vehicle, the briefing stops the video before troopers fired their guns.

Prior incidents

Cervice had been arrested in May 2022 after police said they found him sitting in a vehicle at a park-and-ride lot with three loaded guns.

On May 17, state troopers were called by a woman who said she had been out drinking with Cervice when he became angry and punched her in the head and face as they drove home.

She told police she was able to get out of the car when he stopped and said he had a gun.

A criminal complaint filed in that case said troopers called Cervice’s mother to try to find him, and she told them he had just been at the house and was very angry.

He left carrying a long gun, she told them. She warned troopers not to go to her house because she feared her son might be hiding nearby to ambush them, the complaint said.

Cervice was killed while awaiting trial on felony charges of illegal possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm without a license along with carrying a loaded weapon and harassment.

Cervice was not allowed to possess guns because of previous criminal convictions.

Near fatal encounter with police

Zappala outlined the previous gun and domestic violence incidents in which Cervice was involved that were taken into consideration when determining that troopers used justifiable force when they killed him.

The DA, however, did not note a 2000 shootout with police involving Cervice.

On March 31, 2000, Cervice survived multiple wounds suffered during a gun battle with police in Arnold after he kicked in the door of a home along 17th Street and held a woman and her young children hostage.

The standoff ended after Cervice was shot by an officer wielding a 12-gauge shotgun.

One of the dozen pellets loaded in the shotgun shell remained lodged in Cervice’s head after he recovered, according to investigators.

After Cervice’s death, former Arnold police Chief Ronald Hopkins recounted an encounter he had with Cervice four days before that shootout in Arnold.

Hopkins said he responded to a call for a man firing an AK-47-style assault rifle along Pine Alley near the banks of the Allegheny River. Hopkins was joined by members of a fugitive task force who were working in Arnold that day.

An assault-style rifle was seized along with five other rifles and six handguns.

The guns belonged to Cervice’s father and had to be returned, Hopkins said. Cervice pleaded guilty to a charge of discharging a firearm within city limits.