U.S. Capitol Police kill man during traffic stop turned chase

Thursday, July 16, 2009

U.S. Capitol Police shot and killed a man yesterday after a traffic stop became violent; two officers were slightly injured.

Police reported that the incident began when officers attempted to pull over a white Mercedes for a routine violation. This occurred at about 5:15pm local time in the 100 block of Massachusetts Avenue NW. The suspect sped away, almost running down two officers, striking a parked car and crashing into a police vehicle. He then crawled out of his car's window brandishing a gun. Officers demanded he drop the weapon, but he began shooting at them. They returned fire, fatally wounding the suspect; he was later declared dead at Washington Hospital Center.

Robert Drumm, a food-service manager visiting from Edmond, Oklahoma, reported hearing a collision and then, "boom, boom, boom, boom. A pause and then a bunch more [gunshots]"; he estimated hearing about a dozen shots in total. According to spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, "The subject disregarded repeated demands by police officers to put down the weapon that the suspect had. He began shooting a weapon at several U.S. Capitol Police officers. U.S. Capitol Police returned fire, hitting the suspect. [...] Our officers fired because they believed their lives were in danger." Two officers had minor injuries and were treated on site. As precautions, a U.S. Capitol access road next to the Senate was closed, and doors on the North side were locked. However, police believed the incident was isolated and unrelated to Capitol security.

Sources

Williams, Clarence. "Man Shot Dead Near Capitol After Chase" — Washington Post, July 16, 2009
Richard Cowan and Joanne Allen. "Capitol police say suspect killed near Capitol" — Reuters, July 16, 2009

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