Pa. Officer Allegedly Faked Being Shot by Suspect

Aug. 29, 2012
A Chalfont police officer who said he was shot in the chest, but saved by his body armor, allegedly lied about the event. A bullet was fired at the vest, but not while he was wearing it.

Aug. 29--Chalfont police office Jon Cousin went from being a very lucky man who survived a gunshot wound in the chest because of his body armor to being a suspected criminal who allegedly lied to his fellow officers and set off a massive manhunt for a shooting suspect who did not exist.

Cousin is in jail Wednesday on charges of filing false reports to authorities early Monday because investigators say the shooting never occurred. Although there was a bullet found in Cousin's bullet-proof vest worn under his uniform, it apparently was not fired while Cousin was wearing the vest.

The reason for his alleged lie so far has not been disclosed.

According to borough officials and court records, Cousin reported being shot to the county 911 communications center at 3:16 a.m. Monday while on routine patrol in Chalfont, a borough of about 4,000 residents located just west of Doylestown and about 35 miles south of Allentown. Cousins said he got out of his vehicle to investigate a suspicious car parked in the Lenape Valley Swim and Tennis Club on Westview Avenue when the passenger got out and shot him in the chest.

Police began searching for an older model Oldsmobile, possibly a maroon Cutlass, occupied by two males and a female. The vague description released by authorities indicated Cousin did not radio in the license plate or a description of the car before approaching it, which is usually standard procedure when making a traffic stop.

Cousin was treated at Abington Memorial Hospital. Based on his alleged false report, police throughout the region began searching for the suspected vehicle and roads leading into and out of Chalfont were closed.

Borough officials, in a news release, said they eventually grew suspicious because "Officer Cousin's explanation of the shooting raised more questions than it answered."

Detectives from the Bucks County district attorney's office were called in to take over the investigation.

A ballistics analysis of Cousin's bulletproof vest and other evidence determined the shooting had been staged and Cousin's story was fabricated, the news release said.

Cousin was arrest Tuesday on eight misdemeanor charges including making a false report to a public safety agency, possession of instruments of crime, false reports to law enforcement, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct. He is being held in Bucks County Prison under $150,000 bail.

The borough also has placed him on administrative leave pending an employment investigation.

Tracy Jordan

Copyright 2012 - The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)

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