By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — His mother said she had called the police to get her out-of-control son admitted to Butler Hospital. Yet, in a 911 call that apparently went awry, 30-year-old Jason Swift was shot by a city police officer on Feb. 12 in an alleged struggle in his mother’s Lupine Street apartment.

On Friday, a Providence County grand jury weighed the evidence and returned no indictment against Pawtucket police officer Wallace Martin, who allegedly fired two shots that killed Jason Swift.
According to a press release issued Friday by Attorney General Patrick Lynch, the grand jury determined that the actions by Martin “were lawful and legally justified.”
According to Michael Healey, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, the grand jury’s job was to decide whether or not Martin’s use of deadly force was lawful, or, in terms of the investigation, “legally justified.”
Healey said the law “gives police officers the right to use deadly force in circumstances not generally available to the public.” He further said the law “recognizes the unique duties of police officers, and provides to police officers the right to use deadly force under circumstances that non-police officers would not be entitled to."
Healey said the use of deadly force by members of law enforcement was addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Tennessee v. Garner (1985), in which the court stated: “When the officer has probable cause to believe that (a) suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or to others, it is not constitutionally unreasonable to prevent escape by using deadly force.”
In the case involving Swift, Pawtucket police were initially called to respond to a report of an “emotionally disturbed individual with a knife” outside 71 Lupine St. When the officers arrived, they allegedly found Swift, reported to be about 6 feet tall and weighing at least 300 pounds, carrying a samurai style sword with a 28-inch blade.
According to details provided by Healey, the incident unfolded in about a 10-minute time span after Swift ran up to a third floor apartment at 71 Lupine St.
He was said to have fled a confrontation with police outside the dwelling. Police called for backup after that confrontation, in which Swift allegedly knocked Martin’s glasses off of his face and put officer Anthony Lucchetti in a chokehold.
Healey said that after officer David Dolan arrived, the three policemen went to the third floor, where they found Swift kneeling in a kitchen area, behind an eating island that obscured their view.
Swift, according to police, had taken his clothes off at some point. Healey said that because Smith had been brandishing a sword, and because they couldn’t get a clear look at him, officers Martin and Dolan had their guns drawn, while Lucchettii’s was in his holster. They ordered Swift to assume a “prone position” and show his hands.
At that point, Healey said, Martin and Dolan put their guns back in their holsters. However, when Dolan attempted to handcuff Swift, he reportedly grabbed Martin’s leg, then put Lucchetti in another chokehold, whereupon Martin took out his his baton and struck the man.
According to reports, Swift nevertheless managed to get Martin in a chokehold and pull his jacket over his head, so the officer couldn’t see or breathe. Meanwhile, he allegedly grabbed Martin’s baton and struck the officer in the head with it.
Lucchetti and Dolan then tried to pull Swift off Martin, Healey said. They fell against a coffee table, at which point Martin broke free. He got up, his jacket still over his head, and drew his weapon, Healey said.
Swift reportedly complied with Martin’s command to “stay down “ — until he realized he was bleeding from a wound sustained in the struggle, at which point he charged Martin. Swift was said to have been within a foot of the officer before Martin fired twice.
According to the Office of the State Medical Examiner, the cause of death for Swift was “gunshot wounds of torso with injuries of heart, lungs, aorta, liver, esophagus, stomach and kidney.”
In the aftermath of the Swift shooting, Pawtucket Police Chief George Kelley III and Major Arthur Martins explained that police are trained to shoot at “center body mass” and to “to stop the threat” when a police officer’s safety comes into question.
Attempts to reach the family of Jason Swift were unsuccessful Friday.
Pawtucket police said the fatal altercation came just hours after an incident of alleged domestic violence involving Swift. According to police, the female victim had come in to police headquarters the previous night saying she had been involved in a domestic dispute with Swift, and that he had driven away in a vehicle belonging to her.