Report: No Laws Broken In Police Use of Deadly Force in Seaford Last Year

An investigation into an officer-involved shooting in Seaford last year that resulted in a woman’s death has determined that the actions of law enforcement did not rise to a criminal offense, according to the Delaware Attorney General’s Office.

51-year-old Kelly Rooks died in March 2021. Police at the time said she became combative when she was being assisted by medical personnel and armed herself with a firearm and fired a shot into the floor in front of a trooper who had responded to the scene.

The Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust interviewed police witnesses and civilian witnesses and examined evidence in compiling its report.  “Investigators and attorneys with DCRPT reviewed this use of force incident for the Department of Justice, independent of any administrative or criminal investigation conducted by the Delaware State Police,” according to the Attorney General’s Office.

Rooks placed a 911 call the night of March 25th, claiming she had been poisoned by her neighbors and wanted to go to the hospital. According to the investigation, Rooks later objected to the requests of medical personnel that she go with them to a hospital, and went to a bedroom and got a long gun.

According to the facts that were determined during the investigation:

Troopers continued to shout commands to Rooks to “exit the room and put [her] hands up” and to “drop the gun.”  Rooks responded, “Which one of you pigs wants to die tonight?”  She then opened the door and raised the gun towards Trooper Johnson and fired a shot, which struck the floor in front of him.  Trooper Johnson fired at Rooks and she fell backwards onto the bed.  She then started advancing towards Trooper Johnson again, still holding the gun. Trooper Johnson fired another shot and she fell backwards, and the door closed behind her, blocking his visual again.  Because he could not establish a visual on Rooks, Trooper Johnson and the other Troopers were directed out of the house and ordered to establish a perimeter by the responding supervisor.

According to the investigation, Rooks had made multiple calls to 911 in previous days, as well as in January of that year regarding her neighbors.

The investigation concluded that the trooper “reasonably felt in fear for his own life, and the lives of others when Rooks asked, “Which one of you pigs wants to die tonight” and then raised and fired a gun toward the trooper.

To read the use of force report, please CLICK HERE SOME MAY FIND THE CONTENTS DISTURBING