Ex-Norristown officer charged after striking naked man with patrol car: "not a necessary use of deadly force"

A former Norristown, Pennsylvania, police officer was arrested and charged about one week after officials said he struck a naked man with his patrol vehicle.

Sgt. Daniel DeOrzio, 52, is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, official oppression and recklessly endangering another person, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a news release.

Steele said DeOrzio striking the man amounted to deadly force, and that this level of force did not match the circumstances of the incident. The man was hospitalized and later released after the incident.

DeOrzio was called to a scene at Stanbridge and West Airy streets on the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 4, where police said a naked man was standing in the intersection and blocking traffic.

Police were notified that the man, later identified as Justin Rich, was screaming and damaging cars. Steele said after the first patrol car arrived on the scene, Rich tried to open the doors but did not succeed.

After DeOrzio arrived on scene, he stopped behind a gray pickup truck that was in the travel lane. DeOrzio then radioed to have officers order the truck to move out of the intersection.

Once the truck moved, DeOrzio accelerated his patrol vehicle and struck Rich, who went airborne and landed several feet away. Rich was taken to a nearby hospital and left on Feb. 6.

Montgomery County detectives later began an independent investigation into the use of force. Those investigators learned that Rich was standing in the intersection with his hands on his hips and was not armed when DeOrzio accelerated without a warning and struck him, Steele said.

"DeOrzio, the highest-ranking officer at the scene, made the decision to escalate the use of force from officer presence to deadly force in this short period of time, without considering the use of other levels of force at his disposal," Steele said in a news release.

Investigators did not find any utilization of less lethal weapons, like a Taser or going hands-on with Rich, according to Steele.

"The investigation found that this was not a necessary use of deadly force in this response incident," Steele said.

DeOrzio turned himself in to county detectives and was arraigned on Tuesday morning. A judge set bail at $100,000 and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Feb. 19 on the matter.

A spokesperson for the municipality of Norristown said DeOrzio submitted a letter of resignation on Feb. 6 and is no longer employed there.

"The Municipality takes allegations of misconduct seriously and remains committed to accountability, transparency and maintaining the trust of our community. The Municipality will continue to cooperate fully with any appropriate investigative authorities," a statement from the town read.