A Marlboro police officer's fatal shooting of an armed suspect last year was justified self-defense, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone Jr.'s office announced today, capping a three-month investigation.
Bryce Coutinho, 22, was killed by Officer Soren Levenson the night of Nov. 12 in a house on Meadow Brook Road in Marlboro as police responded to a woman's request that they remove her ex-boyfriend from the residence because he wasn't wanted there and was trying to hurt himself.
In a statement issued today, Leone's office said Levenson shot Coutinho twice as he came at the cop with a knife from a second-floor bedroom, where Coutinho appeared to have a fresh, bloody cut on his forearm.
Leone's office said when Coutinho came within six feet of Levenson, the officer's use of deadly force was justifiable under state law "to defend himself, if the person has reasonable grounds to actually believe that he is in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm, and that no other means would suffice to prevent such harm."
Coutinho's family could not immediately be reached for comment.
Levenson, who has been on administrative leave since the incident, returned to work Friday, according to his department.
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