March 27, 2026
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Montgomery County investigators say two Lower Merion Township police officers acted lawfully in their shooting of Francis Collier, a former officer charged with multiple felony sexual offenses.
Montgomery County investigators have cleared two Lower Merion Township police officers of wrongdoing in a shooting that occurred last month outside the Bala Cynwyd residence of a former Delaware County police officer.
Francis Collier, the ex-officer, had been charged with numerous felony sexual offenses, including the rape of a child, and was wanted by the Pennsylvania attorney general's office.
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A patrol officer had found Collier's Jeep Grand Cherokee outside his home on Old Lancaster Road in the early morning hours of Feb. 25. The officer observed a police tactical vest and tactical bags used to store weapons through the windows of the Jeep. Lower Merion, which already had received a report that Collier owned multiple firearms, dispatched additional police to take him into custody.
Around 3:45 a.m., two officers saw Collier enter his Jeep. They then heard a gunshot and a bullet exited the rear driver side window of the vehicle. Believing Collier was shooting at police, the officers drew their weapons and returned fire. They later discovered Collier in the backseat of the Jeep, dead with a Sig Sauer pistol in his lap. He had three bullet wounds in his head. One had been self-inflicted.
Lower Merion police also found two rifles, a pistol and a bulletproof vest inside the car.
The Montgomery County Detective Bureau opened an independent investigation into the shooting, which entailed interviews and a review of body- and dash-cam video. The investigators also attended the autopsy of Collier and collected evidence from the scene. Both officers involved in the shooting cooperated.
The bureau determined that the officers in question had acted lawfully. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele announced the result Thursday.
"This was a dangerous situation where police were attempting to arrest an armed man on an arrest warrant," he said in a statement. "Our investigation determined the facts of this case justified the use of deadly force by police officers."
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