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Undercover officer shot by fellow officer who perceived him as a suspect, chief says Undercover officer shot by colleague who perceived him as assailant, chief says
(about 7 hours later)
An undercover narcotics officer for Prince George’s County who came upon an ongoing gun battle Sunday outside a station was shot by a fellow officer who perceived him as a suspect, according to Police Chief Hank Stawinski III. An undercover narcotics officer for Prince George’s County who came upon a gun battle Sunday outside a station was shot by a fellow officer who mistook him for an assailant, according to the department’s chief.
Stawinski said he expects to announce more details of the shooting of Officer Jacai Colson, 28, after a court hearing concludes Wednesday afternoon for two men accused of “callously” filming their brother engaging in the shooting spree. The officer who fired the fatal shot did so deliberately but without malice, Police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III said Wednesday at a news conference announcing the latest findings in the case.
A Prince George’s County District Court judge ordered Malik Ford, 21, and Elijah Ford, 18, to continue to be held without bond at the hearing, which was briefly paused when one brother fainted during proceedings. “I believe that another police officer fired at an armed individual who they perceived to be a threat to them,” Stawinski said.
Police say the brothers helped their older sibling — Michael DeAndre Ford, 22 — plot a shootout on a police station in Landover, Md., on Sunday. Stawinski did not name the officer who shot Officer Jacai Colson, 28, adding that investigators had not yet interviewed him. Colson — who was in street clothes at the time — was one of four officers who fired their weapons as they tried to stop the shooting.
Colson, who was in street clothes, died in the shootout as he and other officers responded. The younger Fords were videotaping their older brother on cellphones as he shot at cars, a passing ambulance and the front of the police station, police have said. Police have said Michael Ford intended to die in the gunfight. He was shot but survived. Colson had just arrived at the police station in Landover, Md., when Michael DeAndre Ford, 22, launched a planned and “unprovoked” attack on the building and officers, police said. Ford enlisted his younger brothers — Malik Ford, 21, and Elijah Ford, 18 — to drive him to the scene and callously record the shootout and ambush on their cellphones, police said. Michael Ford shot randomly at cars and an ambulance in addition to targeting officers, police said. While weapons were being discharged, Colson was fatally wounded by friendly fire.
[Brothers filmed attack on police station that left officer dead, authorities say.] At a bail review hearing Wednesday afternoon, a Prince George’s County District Court judge ordered that the younger Ford brothers continue to be held without bond. The proceedings were briefly halted when one brother fainted.
At a Monday news conference, Stawinski had said it was likely Colson had been shot by another officer and used the phrase “errant round” to describe the circumstances. The hearing was emotional, with several members of the Ford brothers’ family speaking on their behalf.
Stawinski said Wednesday, that he had used “errant” because it was not clear Monday whether Colson had been hit by random fire or had been mistaken for a suspect. “At every turn I am not going to rely on circumstantial evidence,” Stawinski said Wednesday. [Brothers recorded attack on police station that left officer dead, authorities say.]
Michael Ford was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Colson, a four-year veteran, and 24 other related counts in the incident. Malik and Elijah Ford face similar charges. Michael Thomas called Malik and Elijah Ford good children who “did not pull the trigger.”
At Wednesday’s bail review hearing, prosecutors said the younger brothers watched as Michael Ford shot and reloaded, firing more than 20 rounds during the gun battle with police. “I’ve lost three sons in one shot,” Thomas said at the hearing in which the younger Ford brothers appeared in orange jumpsuits via video.
The family for the Ford brothers appeared in court asking the judge to be lenient. Michael Thomas called his children good kids who “did not pull the trigger.” During the hearing, one family member asked prosecutors what evidence they had that the brothers were involved with the shooting, prompting a public defender to stop her mid-comment. Another family member said that one of the brothers had been recording the scene not because he was “seeking YouTube celebrity” but because he “was in awe” of the unfolding situation.
“I’ve lost three sons in one shot,” Thomas said in court. Michael Ford has been charged with 25 counts related to the shootout, including second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, assault and handgun charges. Malik and Elijah Ford are charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and related offenses.
During the hearing, one family member asked prosecutors what evidence they had that the brothers were involved with the shooting, prompting a public defender to stop her mid-comment. At Wednesday’s bail review hearing, prosecutors said the younger brothers watched as Michael Ford fired and reloaded, discharging more than 20 rounds during the shootout with police. Police have said Michael Ford intended to die in the gunfight, and that he recorded his last will and testament before heading to the police station. He was shot but survived. Michael Ford remains hospitalized, and it is unclear when he will make his first court appearance.
Michael Ford, who has a history of mental illness, recorded his last will and testament with Elijah Ford before Malik Ford drove the brothers to the police station, charging documents state. Stawinski said Monday that Michael Ford’s attack was “about nothing. It was unprovoked.” He added that he was troubled, too, that the younger Fords did not intercede as the shooting unfolded.
Then, about 4:30 p.m., Michael Ford shot at the doors of the police station attached to Prince George’s police headquarters, officials said. Ford aimed at officers coming outside of the station during a gun battle while Malik and Elijah Ford recorded the ordeal on their cellphones as they sat in a car, they said. At his Monday news conference, Stawinski had said it was likely that Colson was shot by another officer and used the phrase “errant round” to describe what might have occurred.
At one point, according to charge documents, police had approached the red car asking the younger Ford brothers where the shooter was. Malik Ford shouted that he did not know, even though cellphone video clearly shows his brother behind a police van, charging documents allege. On Wednesday, Stawinski said that he had used the term “errant” because it was not clear Monday whether Colson had been mistaken for an assailant during the chaotic scene and that he did not want to draw a conclusion on the basis of circumstantial evidence.
“This is a tragic set of circumstances precipitated by individuals who were in a position to prevent it from happening in the first place,” Stawinski said.
[Man arrested in police station gun battle described as troubled, mentally ill.][Man arrested in police station gun battle described as troubled, mentally ill.]
On Tuesday, a court commissioner rejected second-degree murder and handgun charges against Ford’s younger brothers. Court commissioners determine whether there is probable cause to hold suspects or offer pretrial release. Malik and Elijah Ford have been charged — and are being held without bond — with attempted first-degree murder, assault, conspiracy to commit murder and other charges. Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks said Wednesday that it is too early in the investigation to know why the officer who shot Colson perceived him as a threat.
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said Tuesday that even though police said that Malik and Elijah Ford did not fire a gun at the officers, felony murder charges would be “absolutely” appropriate because police said the brothers acted as accomplices. “We’re not able to say what the officer perceived and why he perceived it,” Alsobrooks said.
Prosecutors will present charges in the case to a grand jury, Alsobrooks said. The case comes amid national concerns that police officers are being targeted by members of the public they are defending and concerns over racial bias in deadly police shootings.
It is unclear when Michael Ford will appear in District Court as he was still in the hospital. Stawinski said he was “uncomfortable with the notion that” bias would be “introduced to the conversation.”
At a news conference earlier this week, Stawinski praised Colson for his heroism, saying the officer drew Michael Ford away from the police station, giving Colson’s colleagues a tactical advantage to end the shooting. He later clarified his response to the question about whether there was any suggestion of racial bias in the exchange of gunfire.
Stawinski, however, said he could not explain what would have compelled the Ford brothers to plot and follow through with the attack on the police station and officers. “In those split seconds when lives are in danger and officers are engaging a deadly threat, there simply isn’t time to bring any biases into it,” Stawinski said. “Hindsight is a luxury that no officer has in the midst of an ambush.”
“This is about nothing,” Stawinski said Monday. “It was unprovoked. Michael had a history of mental illness. But what is more troubling to me is that anybody could stand by so callously and do nothing.” Alsobrooks said her office thoroughly reviews every police-involved shooting in the county, and she said the public’s questions are fair.
“There is an independent review that occurs in every single situation, and this one will be no different from that,” Stawinski said. “We will apply the law to the facts as we do in every single situation.”