Two D.C. police officers were injured and a suspect was wounded after an altercation that caused an officer to jump from a moving vehicle driven in the Brightwood Park neighborhood in Northwest D.C. Friday afternoon.
Natango Robinson, 35, of Southeast, D.C., was arrested and charged with Felony Assault on a Police Officer While Armed, Kidnapping While Armed, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Resisting Arrest, Fleeing a Law Enforcement Officer, Failure to Obey, and Reckless Driving, according to D.C. police.
The suspect’s vehicle is described as a dark colored Jeep SUV and it was last seen bearing a Virginia temporary tag of K37175.
The vehicle was captured by a nearby surveillance camera.
D.C. police Chief Robert Contee said officers were flagged down by someone who reported that an armed man with a cast on his arm was chasing another individual. The officers radioed that information and officers in the area began looking for someone meeting that description.
Road closures were put into effect at 500 Kennedy Street NW for a police investigation following the incident.
A little while later, officers stopped a man matching that description and felt a firearm in his waistband during a search, according to Contee. A fight then broke out, and the suspect managed to break free and run to an alleyway, where he got into a vehicle.
Police tried to get the man out of the car, as one officer entered into the rear seat in an effort to remove him. However, the suspect was able to start the vehicle, injuring one officer as the car took off down Kennedy Street.
The officer who entered through the rear asked the suspect several times to stop, but the man kept driving, Contee said.
“During that that drive down Kennedy Street, a shot was fired by our officer, striking the individual,” Contee said.
It was initially reported that the officer was dragged, but Contee clarified that the officer inside the car jumped out of the rear after shooting the suspect. Despite being shot by police, the suspect inside the car continued to go down the street.
WTOP’s Megan Cloherty reported that a man with a gunshot wound turned up at a nearby hospital shortly after the incident. Contee confirmed that the individual was the suspect wanted in this incident.
#BREAKING: Officer attempting a traffic stop in the 500 block of Kennedy St NW dragged by driver, suffering non-life threatening injuries. Officer fired their gun, suspected driver turns up at nearby hospital with gunshot wounds. @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/pyYpoBkhdP
— Tom Lynch (@TomLynch_) October 22, 2021
Contee said the man had a single gunshot wound, and was taken into surgery for treatment. Police are still looking for his vehicle, which is described as a dark-colored Jeep.
Two officers were sent to hospitals to be treated for injuries caused during the incident. D.C. police are still investigating the area and looking for video from nearby crime cameras.
Brightwood Park was identified as one of the five areas the District was focusing on in its 2021 Fall Crime Prevention Initiative. Contee confirmed police increased its presence in the area recently, adding that it was “disrespectful to the community” that the suspect chased someone down the street with a loaded gun.
Contee thanked the resident who warned officers of the armed man, and asked any other potential witnesses — such as the man who was being chased — to come forward and offer a statement to police by calling 202-727-9099.
“This is an incident where one of our brave officers is out here, and citizens did exactly what we asked them to do: they told a police officer,” Contee said. ” …[To] that citizen, thank you. They did what they exactly what they were supposed to do and those officers, they did exactly what they were supposed to do.”
