Commonwealth v. Loughhead

• Decision Date: 27 May 1907
• Docket Number: 85
• Citation: 67 A. 747,218 Pa. 429
• Parties: Commonwealth v. Loughhead, Appellant
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

67 A. 747

218 Pa. 429

Commonwealth v. Loughhead, Appellant

No. 85

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

May 27, 1907

Argued May 13, 1907

Appeal, No. 85, Jan. T., 1907, by defendant, from judgment of O. & T. Clearfield Co., Dec. T., 1906, No. 30, on verdict of guilty of manslaughter in the case of Commonwealth v. D.P Loughhead. Affirmed.

Indictment for murder. Before SMITH, P.J.

At the trial it appeared that the defendant after having arrested Lotsy Cardohely on an indictment charging assault, shot and killed the prisoner while the latter was attempting to escape.

The court charged in part as follows:

[Now as we have already said, and as so clearly appears in the learned opinion of Justice ORLADY in the above extract, the right of an officer to use a weapon, except in self-defense depends on whether the warrant authorizing the officer to act at all charges a felony or a misdemeanor; if a felony, and the person sought to be arrested flees, and refuses to stop when called on to do so by the officer, the officer can shoot, even to kill, to prevent escape if he cannot otherwise secure his prisoner. Even this right, as you will notice, grows out of necessity of the case. But if misdemeanor only is charged, the officer has no such right.]

Verdict of guilty of voluntary manslaughter, upon which the court sentenced the prisoner to pay a fine of $50.00 and undergo imprisonment in the penitentiary for one year and six months.

Error assigned was portion of charge as above, quoting it.

We find no merit in any of the assignments of error. The judgment is affirmed.

Singleton Bell, with him S. V. Wilson and Howard B. Hartswick, for appellant.

J. A. Gleason, with him J. H. Kelley, district attorney, and W. H. Patterson, for appellee.

Before FELL, BROWN, MESTREZAT, ELKIN and STEWART, JJ.

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

This appeal is from a conviction of voluntary manslaughter. The appellant was a constable and was deputized by another constable to assist him in arresting a number of persons who were charged in the warrant with assault and battery disorderly conduct and malicious destruction of property. After one of the persons named in the warrant had been taken into custody, he broke away from the officers and, while running to effect his escape, he was shot and killed by the appellant. The instruction to the jury on the main point of the defense was that where a misdemeanor has been committed and is...