This story was updated at 3 p.m. Dec. 29, 2021, to add comments from Thomas Lester.
Montgomery County police shot and killed someone in Silver Spring during a traffic stop early Wednesday morning after the person fired at officers, authorities say.
The shooting came after police were investigating another shooting that injured a man, according to Police Chief Marcus Jones.
An off-duty police officer responded to the 900 block of Bonifant Street around 4:15 a.m. and found a man who had been shot, Jones told reporters Wednesday. The man who was shot was taken to a hospital.
The off-duty officer then told on-duty officers that the alleged shooter was in a white Mercedes Benz, Jones said. On-duty officers pursued the Mercedes-Benz and stopped the vehicle at the intersection of Wayne and Dartmouth avenues, he said.
During the traffic stop, the alleged shooter got out of the Mercedes-Benz and started shooting at officers with a handgun, Jones said. Officers then shot at the person, hitting them. The person died at the scene.
Jones said on Wednesday that four officers had been placed on administrative leave. It was not clear whether all four officers fired shots.
Police did not provide any additional information, including the names of the officers or the person who died.
Jones said it’s possible that there was some type of relationship between the man who was shot and injured earlier and the person who police shot and killed. He did not have additional details.
The attorney general’s Independent Investigation Division is investigating the fatal shooting by officers.
The Independent Investigations Division was created after the General Assembly passed police reform legislation this year. It investigates all “alleged or potential police-involved deaths of civilians” and issues a report with its findings to the county where the use of force took place.
The attorney general’s office became the agency that investigates deaths caused by police officers in October. Previously, Howard and Montgomery counties had a memorandum of understanding in which one county investigated a death caused by an officer in the other county.
Thomas Lester, a spokesman with the attorney general’s Independent Investigations Division, wrote in an email to Bethesda Beat Wednesday afternoon that the office started its investigation at the scene in the morning. He was not sure how long the investigation would take.
Thomas wrote that there is body-worn camera footage from the shooting that will be reviewed as part of the investigation. Investigators will also review evidence and conduct interviews, he wrote.
The office normally releases body-worn camera footage to the public within 14 days of a death involving use of force by an officer, according to Thomas.
“There may be situations where more than 14 days is necessary, including if investigators need more time to complete witness interviews, if there are technical delays caused by the need to shield the identities of civilian witnesses, or to allow family members to view the video before it is released to the public.”
There have been four other fatal shootings by law enforcement officers in Montgomery County this year:
- The shooting of 24-year-old Kwamena Ocran following a confrontation with four plainclothes Gaithersburg officers in January. A Montgomery County grand jury declined to charge the officers.
- The shooting of a man in Laytonsville by a county sheriff’s deputy in February after he attacked the deputy with a large tree branch. The deputy was later cleared of wrongdoing by the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office.
- An off-duty Pentagon officer was charged with murder after allegedly shooting and killing two men in Takoma Park in April. Court records show a trial scheduled for early March.
- After a standoff of more than 90 minutes, four Montgomery County officers fired shots at 21-year-old Ryan LeRoux on July 16 in the drive-through lane of a McDonald’s in Gaithersburg, killing him. Howard County authorities are investigating the shooting.
Jones said on Wednesday that Montgomery County police would investigate the original shooting that injured the man on Bonifant Street. The man is expected to survive, Jones said.
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@moco360.media
