Lower Merion officers cleared in use of force in fatal officer-involved shooting – The Times Herald

NORRISTOWN — Montgomery County authorities determined two Lower Merion police officers acted with a lawful use of force when they discharged their firearms, returning fire as they attempted to take into custody a former police officer, who was wanted by state authorities for alleged child rape in Delaware County, when they encountered him in the Bala Cynwyd section of the township.

“This was a dangerous situation where police were attempting to arrest an armed man on an arrest warrant,” District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said on Thursday, referring to the Feb. 25, 2026, incident. “Our investigation determined the facts of this case justified the use of deadly force by police officers.”

Francis Connell Collier, 38, a former Morton Borough police officer, suffered fatal wounds during the incident.

The independent investigation of the shooting was conducted by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau, which is protocol for officer-involved shootings in the county. The Lower Merion police officers involved cooperated with the investigation, Steele said.

During the investigation, county detectives interviewed numerous officers, reviewed police bodycam and dash camera video, attended the autopsy and collected extensive evidence at the scene in the unit block of Old Lancaster Road.

The investigation found that the day before the incident, Lower Merion police received information that Collier was a wanted person who lived in the Bala Cynwyd section of the township. The report included a photo of Collier, his Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the fact that he was wanted by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office for allegations of rape of a child, as well as the fact that Collier was a former police officer whose records indicated owned numerous firearms.

On Feb. 25, at 1:56 a.m., a patrol officer located Collier’s vehicle outside of his residence on Old Lancaster Road. Police observed through the vehicle’s windows a police tactical vest and tactical bags, which are used to store gear and weapons. Township police formulated a plan to take Collier into custody when he exited his apartment, according to Steele.

At 3:45 a.m., two officers observed Collier walking toward his Jeep and the interior light as he entered the Jeep. One officer stepped out of his vehicle, and the other officer activated his patrol car’s emergency lights.

The officers heard a gunshot from the vehicle and believed they were being fired upon, Steele said. A bullet exited the rear driver’s side window of the Jeep. The officers drew their weapons and returned fire.

Collier was found in the back seat of the vehicle, deceased from three gunshot wounds to his head, including one self-inflicted wound.

A Sig Sauer semi-automatic pistol was recovered from Collier’s lap, according to authorities.

Police also recovered two rifles, a pistol and a bulletproof vest from the vehicle.

Steele explained that in Pennsylvania, the use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer is governed by Section 508 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code. A law enforcement officer is “justified in using deadly force only when he believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself or such other person…,” according to the law.

Additionally, according to state law, the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers is justified to defeat…the escape of a person who possesses a deadly weapon or otherwise indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict serious bodily injury unless arrested without delay.

According to online court records, the state attorney general’s office filed child sexual assault related charges against Collier on Feb. 24, stemming from alleged incidents involving two underage girls, to whom Collier had access, that occurred many years ago at locations in Delaware County, including Drexel Hill and Upper Darby Township.

Those charges, which had been filed in the office of District Court Judge Gabriella Coleman in Secane, included rape of a child, aggravated indecent assault of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, endangering the welfare of a child, indecent assault and simple assault.

The girls were as young as 5-years-old at the time of the alleged incidents, which occurred between 2001 and 2004.

Morton Police Chief Kenneth Lawless previously issued a statement confirming the department was contacted by the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office in December 2025 regarding an investigation of Collier.

“The investigation was related to criminal allegations of an incident(s) that took place many years ago when Francis Collier may have been a teenager,” Lawless said in the statement.

Collier was immediately placed on unpaid administrative leave and he subsequently resigned from the police department on Dec. 19, 2025, according to Lawless.

Lawless indicated that on Feb. 24, the police department became aware that Collier was charged by the attorney general’s office.

“There had been no allegations of criminal conduct against him during his tenure as a Morton Police Officer,” Lawless wrote in the statement, adding the department was “deeply troubled” by the serious allegations against a former officer.