Pittsburgh Officer: Force Necessary In South Side Shooting

The attorney for a Pittsburgh police officer said deadly force was necessary to keep a motorist from harming officers before a fatal police shooting in March.

The attorney said Pittsburgh Sgt. Terrence Donnelly was justified in shooting at Nicholas Haniotakis, 33, on March 15. An investigation determined a shot fired by Trooper Samuel Nassan III killed the motorist, though Donnelly wounded him, too.

Nassan's attorney has yet to respond to the federal lawsuit filed by the motorist's family.

Police said Haniotakis was shot along Wharton and 22nd streets, because he tried to run down the officers who tried to stop him for driving without headlights during a drunken driving patrol.

Nassan fatally shot an unarmed 12-year-old Uniontown boy in 2002. That lawsuit was settled for $12.5 million.

Previous Stories: April 2, 2009: Family Of Man Shot Dead By Trooper Files Lawsuit March 25, 2009: Investigators Recreate Scene Of Fatal South Side Shooting March 18, 2009: State Trooper Fired Shot That Killed South Side Man March 16, 2009: New Details Emerging After Man Shot, Killed On South Side