Four Kent police officers involved in the December shooting of a man armed with a machete returned to work Friday.

Officers Benjamin Darrah, Dominic Poe, Michael Carnahan and Sean Driscoll were placed on paid administrative leave during the department’s internal investigation, which cleared them of any departmental violations, according to a press release.

Douglas Yon, 25, was armed with a machete and refused to leave his cousin Shauna Yon’s residence at 626 Virginia Ave. in Kent on Dec. 17.

Yon could be heard on the 911 call saying if police arrived, he would run at officers and make them shoot him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Many details remain unknown about the incident, including how many officers fired their weapons, how far away Yon was from officers, the number of shots fired and why tasers were not used.

“The officers had been involved in a tragic, traumatic incident, and we didn’t want to start asking questions immediately after the incident, said Kent Police Chief Michelle Lee at a December press conference.

Lee defended her officers’ actions.

“I stand behind my officers,” Lee said. “The officers did what they had to do to protect themselves.”

The Portage County Sheriff’s Office is also conducting an investigation into the incident.

 

Emily Mills is the editor of The Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].