On Friday Elkhart County Prosecutor Vicki Becker made it official: Police were justified in killing Martin’s shooting suspect Juan Sanchez January 27.
Becker summarized what happened in a press release. Patrolman Ethan Pasternak was the first officer to arrive at the Jackson Boulevard store less than two minutes after Sanchez had shot people inside.
Sanchez had left the store and someone had directed Pasternak southward from the main entrance. He ran until he saw Sanchez, who pulled a gun from his pocket and started firing at Pasternak.
A bullet entered the officer’s left elbow, exited, and lodged in his torso. Still, Pasternak managed to fire shots at Sanchez. A few seconds later came Corporal Paul Vandenburg. He was trying to direct two bystanders away from the area. They were apparently trying to record video with their phones.
Vandenburg saw Sanchez turn toward him and he started firing at Sanchez. Vandenburg also was hit in the left elbow. Sanchez was killed.
In her statement, Becker said, “Without the heroic and immediate actions of both Patrolman Ethan Pasternak and Corporal Paul Vandenburg, I believe that additional acts of violence would have been committed by Sanchez.
