The fatal officer-involved shooting happened at 3:48 a.m. on Old Lancaster Road in the Bala Cynwyd section of Lower Merion Township on Feb. 25, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele announced.
Lower Merion Township Police officers were on patrol when they spotted a vehicle belonging to 38-year-old Francis Connell Collier, who was wanted by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office on charges of rape of a child, according to the DA.
Officers saw Collier returning to the vehicle and confronted him. Collier then fired at the officers, who returned fire, fatally wounding him, the DA said.
Per county protocol, Montgomery County Detectives responded to investigate the officer-involved shooting.
That investigation has now concluded, with the District Attorney’s Office determining the officers’ use of deadly force was lawful following a review of body camera footage, witness interviews, autopsy findings, and evidence collected at the scene.
Investigators also determined officers had identified Collier the day before and developed a plan to take him into custody after locating his vehicle outside his residence earlier that morning, where tactical gear was observed inside.
At about 3:45 a.m., as officers approached, a gunshot was fired from inside the vehicle, and a bullet exited the rear driver’s side window, prompting officers to return fire, according to the investigation.
Collier was found in the back seat of the vehicle, dead from multiple gunshot wounds, including one that was self-inflicted, investigators said.
In a separate “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” statement, Morton Police confirmed Collier had previously served as an officer with the department.
According to Morton Police, the department was contacted in December 2025 by the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office regarding an investigation into then-Officer Collier involving alleged criminal incidents that “took place many years ago” when he “may have been a teenager.”
He was immediately placed on unpaid administrative leave and resigned from the department on Dec. 19, 2025, the statement said.
On Feb. 24 — one day before the shooting — Morton Police learned Collier had been formally charged by the Pennsylvania State Attorney General’s Office in connection with those allegations.
“There have been no allegations of criminal conduct against him during his tenure as a Morton Police Officer,” the department wrote.
“The Morton Police Department is deeply troubled by the serious allegations against a former officer,” the statement continued, calling the conduct described in the charges “profoundly disturbing and wholly inconsistent with the standards and values expected of those who serve our community.”
The department said it is fully cooperating with law enforcement authorities.
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