A Lehigh Township man who was shot by police Wednesday had choked his mother and threatened a neighbor who called 911, according to court documents.
The man, Sean Robert Deibert, 49, faces a felony charge of strangulation, and misdemeanor charges of simple assault and terroristic threats.
According to state police, Lehigh Township officers were called around 3:51 p.m. Wednesday to a home in the 4100 block of Heritage Lane for a domestic incident between Deibert and his mother, 71. Officers were told that Deibert may have had a large knife in his presence, according to court documents.
Lehigh Township officers entered the home, and a confrontation occurred, state police said. A Taser was deployed and then Deibert was shot by an officer, state police said. He was transported to the hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Prior to the confrontation with police, court documents state, a neighbor called 911 after seeing Deibert on the back porch of the home, screaming and yelling at no one. He had a pair of “nunchucks” in his pocket, the neighbor told police, and he started yelling at her. He told her “she’d be the next one he killed,” police said.
The mother told police her son was experiencing a mental health episode, and he had shoved her, thrown her on the ground and choked her almost to the point where she lost consciousness before going outside and yelling at the neighbors.
When police arrived the mother went to speak with them and Deibert went inside, police said. Officers did not chase him, but waited for backup to arrive before entering the home. It was shortly after that a gunshot was heard, according to court documents.
This case is being investigated by state police, with assistance from the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office and police from Walnutport, Moore Township, Slatington and Lehigh Township.