Lithuania’s Supreme Court reviews officer’s fatal shooting case, ruling expected in May

The Supreme Court of Lithuania has reviewed the case of police officer Darius Šerpytis, who was acquitted of charges related to the fatal shooting of a mentally ill woman in 2023, with a final ruling now set for May 26, reports LRT.

Dozens of uniformed officers gathered outside the court in support of Šerpytis, who stands accused of exceeding his authority and abuse of power in the December 2023 incident. The officer fired a fatal shot at a 51-year-old woman with mental health issues after she attacked him with a large knife in Baraškų village, Vilnius district. Non-lethal measures—including pepper spray and a Taser—had failed to subdue her.

Prosecutor Gintas Ivanauskas argued that officers acted improperly, questioning whether lethal force was necessary. He claimed special measures were misapplied and that police unnecessarily broke into the woman’s home, where she had barricaded herself. The prosecution, alongside lawyers for the victim’s two adult sons, has called for the Supreme Court to overturn the acquittal by the Vilnius Regional Court—a decision later upheld by the Court of Appeal—and send the case back for retrial.

Šerpytis’s defense attorney, Romualdas Drakšas, dismissed the prosecutor’s statements as “declarative,” insisting the courts had ruled correctly. He argued that any person facing an armed, aggressive attacker with a history of violence—such as the woman, who had earlier assaulted medics—would reasonably fear for their life and act in self-defense. “Šerpytis’s actions cannot be classified as exceeding the limits of necessary defense,” Drakšas stated, warning that convicting officers in such cases would leave police “powerless and indecisive.”

Addressing the court, Šerpytis maintained he would act the same way if confronted with a similar threat. “I had two choices: turn and run, risking a knife in my back, or defend myself,” he said.

The incident began when emergency medics, responding to a call about the woman’s aggressive behavior, requested police assistance. According to case files, she had already attacked the medics and their vehicle with a chisel before arming herself with the knife. After pepper spray and a Taser failed to stop her advance, Šerpytis fired multiple shots at her limbs before delivering the fatal shot.