State police investigate killing of armed man in Cranberry by police

Pennsylvania State Police have identified 37-year-old Logan Cumberland of the Ellwood City area as the man they say was armed when officers confronted, shot and killed him in Cranberry on Tuesday.

One of the State Police’s responsibilities following the incident is to investigate the officers’ use of deadly force.

Many other questions about the case remain unanswered. For example, did Cumberland shoot or point a gun at police officers? How many police officers shot at him and from which police departments?

“This is all part of the investigation. I can’t tell you that at this point,” said Trooper Matthew Hosey, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Police. “I can’t confirm anything from there.”

Was there an exchange of gunfire between Cumberland and the police?

“I can’t tell you which agencies are involved in the investigation and how many rounds it is. Technically, that’s all part of the investigation. It can’t be shared with you yet,” Hosey said.

Cumberland was the man who, according to Cranberry police, was described by witnesses as being insane and arrived in the Cranberry area in a car packed with weapons.

The witness statements and the subsequent police investigation led to an hours-long curfew for the entire Cranberry Township.

According to the Pennsylvania State Police, officers found Cumberland in a wooded area near the Cranberry Heights Golf Course, confronted the armed man and shot him. None of the officers were injured in the incident.

Cranberry police said Tuesday that notes found in Cumberland’s rental car indicated he was mentally unstable and may have wanted to harm himself or others.

Pennsylvania State Police have not commented on whether they know what motivated Cumberland to go to Cranberry with weapons. They did not provide details about Cumberland’s papers found in his rental car that raised police concerns.

“I heard there were these letters that I can’t go into detail about – what happened there or what was written in them. But his motive is part of the investigation and that has to remain that way for now,” Hosey said.

Was anyone with de-escalation or negotiation experience brought in or had contact with Cumberland prior to the shooting that led to his death?

“I can’t confirm whether they were on site at the time or not,” Hosey said.

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 via email, “The matter remains under investigation. Once the investigation is complete, a report will be submitted to the District Attorney’s Office for review. There will be no further comment until then.”

When asked if Cumberland threatened anyone with a weapon or verbally threatened anyone during the curfew, Hosey said, “To this point, the suspect’s activity is all we know about his whereabouts and motive, for lack of a better term. I can’t say at this point if he threatened anyone before he went into the woods.”

“He was armed when he was attacked by police in that wooded area,” Hosey said.

And did Cumberland point his gun when police confronted him? Hosey said, “That’s one part of the investigation we’re not sure about. They’ll have to figure all that out.”

A relative of Cumberland told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that some family members believed he was suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness – but when he was well, he was like “a big teddy bear and had a lot of heart.”

The state police have no speculation about his mental state or his motive.

“That’s a difficult question about his motive. And that’s all going to be part of the investigation that they’re going to have to figure out,” Hosey said.