The man who was fatally shot by a Montgomery County police officer Saturday night in Wheaton has been identified by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General as Melvin Omar Chavez-Paz, 31, of Wheaton.
Chavez-Paz was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting involving police Cpl. Cody Hobbs, a 12-year veteran of the department assigned to the Patrol Services Bureau, according to a Tuesday statement from the attorney general office’s Independent Investigations Division.
Cpl. Hobbs was placed on administrative leave and will continue to be on leave during the investigation, county police spokesperson Shiera Goff told Moco360 on Wednesday.
According to the attorney general’s office, officers responded shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday to the 3400 block of Janet Road to the report of an assault in progress. Upon arrival at the scene, officers encountered Chavez-Paz in a yard “holding an object in his right hand.”
“Police shouted commands at the man to ‘drop the knife;’ however, the man did not comply and began crossing the street. One officer discharged his service weapon, striking the man,” the attorney general’s office said. “A grill fork was recovered near the man’s body. No officers were injured.”
In a statement Saturday night, county police said after Chavez-Paz did not comply with the officer’s commands, he “approached the officer and the victims he had allegedly assaulted earlier” and then the officer shot him.
Police and the attorney general’s office said officers provided medical aid to Chavez-Paz after he was shot and called for emergency medical services, but Chavez-Paz did not survive.
Chavez-Paz’s family is asking for privacy “during their time of grief,” according to CASA, an advocacy group representing people of color and immigrants that is in contact with the family.
Executive Director Gustavo Torres said Tuesday in a news release that CASA was providing Chavez-Paz’s family with “direct services and humanitarian support.”
The family’s “main focus is the safe return of their nephew to ensure a dignified burial based on his mother’s wishes,” Torres said.
On Sunday, the attorney general’s office announced its Independent Investigations Division would investigate the fatal shooting, as required by state law.
The division generally releases the name of the decedent and officers involved in the shooting within two business days of the incident, according to the attorney general’s office. The release of names can be extended past two days “if there is a specific reason to believe that an officer’s safety is at risk,” the attorney general’s office says.
Officers on the scene of the shooting wore body-worn cameras that recorded the incident, according to the attorney general’s office. The investigations division “generally” releases the body camera footage within 20 business days of an incident. Still, there can be delays past 20 days if investigators need more time to interview witnesses, for technical delays to shield the identity of civilian witnesses or to allow family members to view the video before its public release.
