Fatal police shooting in District began with armed carjacking in Maryland
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Version 0 of 1. A pursuit Monday night that ended when police officers fatally shot a carjacking suspect in Southeast Washington began about 10 miles away when an armed man demanded money from a victim, according to authorities. Prince George’s County police said the victim refused, and the suspect hit the victim with a gun and stole the victim’s car. County police, joined later by officers from Forest Heights, pursued the vehicle into the District to the Garfield Heights neighborhood, where police said officers exchanged gunfire with the man. Two officers from Prince George’s and two from Forest Heights fired, their departments said. D.C. police said none of its officers fired. The alleged gunman died Monday night at a hospital. D.C. police identified him Tuesday night as James Covington Jr., 62, of Southeast Washington. Few details of the deadly encounter have been made public, though Prince George’s police provided some additional details about what led to it. A police statement says officers went to the 200 block of River Bend Road in Fort Washington, near National Harbor, for a cajacking report. Police said the victim had fended off a robbery, was assaulted and had a car taken. The statement says that a short time later, police began an authorized pursuit, but no details were provided on how long the chase lasted or on what roads it occurred. The pursuit ended in the 2800 block of Gainesville Street, just off Alabama Avenue in Southeast Washington and a few blocks from the Seventh District police station. D.C. police Cmdr. Vendette Parker, who runs the Seventh District station, said Monday night that officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect. Prince George’s police said two of its officers, Christopher Malinowski and Anthony Sciaretta, fired their guns. Both officers are assigned to the Bureau of Patrol. Malinowski joined the department in 2013, and Sciaretta is a six-year veteran. Both officers are on routine administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, the county police said. Dean Jones, president of the union that represents Prince George’s police officers, said the suspect pursued by police bailed out of the car in the District before taking off on foot. “The suspect was armed and shot at police officers,” Jones said. “We recovered the weapon and believe it is pretty cut and dry.” Forest Heights police got involved in the incident after Prince George’s officers asked for assistance in the pursuit that appeared to be coming through the town, which borders the District, said Forest Heights Police Chief Stewart Russell. Two of the department’s officers joined the chase near Indian Head Highway and Oxon Hill Road before they arrived in the District and fired their weapons, Russell said. Russell identified the Forest Heights officers involved as Frank Campbell and Cpl. Anthony Rease, both of whom have been with the department for less than two years. Russell said the officers are on routine administrative leave pending a standard investigation. “We are comfortable with our officer’s actions and proud of their ability to take action to save themselves, fellow officers and other citizens that may have been in harm’s way,” Russell said. Martin Weil contributed to this report. |