US EditionA former Pennsylvania officer accused of child rape fatally shot in a gunfire exchange with police
Former Morton Borough officer Francis Connell Collier was fatally shot after opening fire while police served a warrant on child sexual assault charges, authorities said.
- Lower Merion Township police confronted Francis Connell Collier, 38, at 3:48 a.m. Wednesday, and he fired at officers who returned fire, fatally wounding him on Old Lancaster Road near his home.
- The state filed child sexual assault charges against Collier on Feb. 24, including offenses with an offense date listed as Dec. 1, in the criminal complaint filed in Secane.
- As a part-time Morton Borough officer, Collier served on the Delaware County Child Abuse and Exploitation Task Force, resigned in December of last year after being placed on leave, and failed a polygraph in early December.
- Authorities reported no other injuries and cautioned that the defendant's death ends the prosecution while the allegations remain; Montgomery County Detectives processed the scene and towed Collier's Jeep Grand Cherokee.
20 Articles
20 Articles
By MARK SCOLFORO A former Pennsylvania police officer accused of sexually assaulting two young girls more than two decades ago died early Wednesday morning in a shootout with police, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said. Francis Connell Collier had resigned in December from the Morton Police Department, in the Philadelphia suburbs, after being placed on leave as a result of the investigation. The 38-year-old was shot and killed …
Associated Press News
A former Pennsylvania officer accused of child rape fatally shot in a gunfire exchange with police
A former Pennsylvania police officer accused of child rape is dead after a shootout with police after officers recognized his car.
Montgomery County authorities investigate officer-involved shooting in Lower Merion
LOWER MERION – Montgomery County authorities are investigating an officer-involved shooting in Lower Merion Township during which a former Morton Borough police officer, who was wanted by state authorities for alleged child rape in Delaware County, was fatally shot. At 3:48 a.m. Feb. 25, Lower Merion police were on patrol on Old Lancaster Road in the Bala Cynwyd section of the township when they spotted a vehicle that belonged to 38-year-old Fra…
Lower Merion police shoot, kill former Morton officer charged in child sex case
LOWER MERION — Lower Merion Township police fatally shot a former Morton police officer wanted by state authorities for alleged child rape in Delaware County in what the Delco DA described as “suicide by cop.” Lower Merion police were on patrol Wednesday shortly before 4 a.m. on Old Lancaster Road in the Bala Cynwyd section of the township when they spotted a vehicle that belonged to 38-year-old Francis C. Collier, who was wanted by the Pennsylv…
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