Two Officers Cleared in Fatal Shooting of Robbery Suspect

(Originally published on Dec. 28, 2016) WESTLAKE, OH — Two Westlake police officers have been cleared in an investigation into their use of deadly force in the Oct. 10 fatal shooting of 26-year-old Devan Desnoyers, the Cuyohoga County Prosecutor's Office said.

Cuyohoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said the officers, Stephen Krebs and Anthony Lavolpa, were faced with what appeared to be a life-threatening situation and acted appropriately under the circumstances,, Fox8 reported. It was only after Desnoyers was killed that police realized he was carrying an Airsoft gun, Patch previously reported.

The two officers "encountered someone who apparently had just committed an armed robbery, had fled the crime scene and recklessly put others in danger," McGinty said. "When the police were finally able to stop his car, he refused to follow their commands and instead pulled what looked to be a real gun."

The officers were responding to a 911 call about an armed robbery at a CVS Pharmacy on Detroit Road. Desnoyers allegedly demanded prescription painkillers, indicating that he had a gun and that he would shoot if the pharmacist didn't comply.

See also:

• Westlake Police Release Details of CVS Robbery and Shooting and 911 Call: Listen
• Westlake Robbery Suspect was Carrying an Airsoft Gun When He Was Fatally Shot by Police

He fled after the alleged robbery, and his car was struck by a patrol cruiser. Witnesses said officers demanded he show his hands, but he instead reached for a bottle of Oxycodone and pulled the replica firearm from his waistband. At that point, the two officers fired off seven shots in about 1.1 seconds.

Westlake police and federal agents had been investigating Desnoyers as a possible suspect in three other CVS robberies in which opioids were stolen and a note was passed indicating the robber had a gun.

Desnoyers' mother, Christine Porter, told FOX 8 her son never had a gun. She released the following statement through the TV station:

"I am upset. I am utterly and painfully heartbroken because there are too many situations such as this where the officers are not held accountable. I had faith in our system but the law essentially allows for officers to make mistakes, even if it means a life is lost. There were no body cameras so it is their word against our son's and he is not here to answer. But, what I do know is that he did not have a weapon in his hands at the time, did not point anything and most certainly did not strike their vehicles as they initially reported and my son died and as a mother, my anguish is indescribable for my love for my son was great and he was far greater than what the world knows. I am a nurse and I spend a lifetime of healing people and my husband, an NYPD Sergeant of 30 years, has spent a lifetime of taking care of people as well and our worst nightmare came to fruition with this event. We would have wanted our son to face his due process, the process our nation affords us with our constitutional rights. I would have preferred him to seek help for his alleged addiction but these two officers acted as judge, jury and executioner. This sort of action is terrifying as a mother, a police wife and nurse who genuinely loves everyone for it offers no protection for our weakest and most needy in society. A mistake should have not meant a death sentence and their mistakes robbed me of my son. I am painfully and irrevocably changed. We, as an entire family, are grieving for our son today."

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