Police Account of Fatal Shooting Doesn't Add Up
Granted, the investigation is still ongoing, but last night two off-duty police officers shot and killed a 14-year-old, and the account that has since emerged about how it happened doesn't make a lot of sense so far. This is shaping up into a story that isn't likely to go away quickly for the MPD, so let's take a look at what Chief Lanier said this morning. This info is from reports from both WTOP and the Washington Post based on Lanier's press conference.
Last night, an unnamed off-duty D.C. police officer was notified that his home had been broken into and that various items, including a mini-bike, were stolen. The officer then got into his personal car with another off-duty officer, both of whom were in plain clothes, to drive around the neighborhood and see if they could spot the stolen bike anywhere.
After driving around for a short while, the two officers spotted a youth with the bike in question, and stopped to question him. They did not identify themselves as police officers, according to Lanier, because before they had time the teenager drew a gun and began firing at them while they were still in the car. The teen fired about three rounds into the car, and the officer whose bike it was then returned fire, about eight rounds, hitting the teenager in the head. He died later at a hospital.
No witnesses to the exchange of gunfire have been identified, but the gun used by the teenager was not recovered. This seems pretty strange -- Lanier described the crime scene as "chaotic" and that someone might have walked off with the gun. But how? The officers apparently were the only two people there after they shot the youth in the head and before paramedics and more police officers arrived. Where could the gun have gone?
Lanier acknowledged that it was not standard procedure for police officers to investigate a burglary in their own homes, but wasn't sure whether it was necessarily wrong for them to drive around looking for a bike that might have been abandoned on the street. She could also not provide an answer as to whether either officer called to say they were investigating the break-in while off-duty, or whether they had police radios with them at the time.
Both officers are now on administrative leave. Obviously, more answers will be forthcoming as the investigation continues. Chief Lanier must understand that the answers she provided this morning are insufficient, so we'll wait until a thorough report can be compiled to judge what really happened, but this does not make a lot of sense right now. The last thing the MPD needs is to have the city questioning the facts surrounding the fatal shooting of a teenager by a police officer.