Newly released body camera footage shows the moments a D.C. police officer fatally shot a man who police said minutes earlier had attacked a paramedic and then escaped an the ambulance taking him to a hospital.
During a Wednesday evening news conference, Executive Assistant Chief of Police Jeff Carroll said 41-year-old Clifford Brooks, of Northeast D.C., charged at the officer with a “metal object” before the officer fired six shots.
Age-restricted video of the shooting, which happened onJan. 24 near the intersection of North Capitol Street and New York Avenue, is below:
“Any death is tragic, especially in a circumstance like this, when the officer spent so much time trying to work with the individual and get them the help that he needed,” Carroll said. “It’s a very difficult situation and obviously the goal is always to try to de-escalate and to safely get that person the help that they need.”
Carroll said the incident started around 6:40 a.m. on Jan. 24 in the 2500 block of Benning Road Northeast, where police encountered Brooks “in crisis.” Officers de-escalated the situation and Brooks got into an ambulance.
On the way to the hospital, around 9:23 a.m., Carroll said Brooks became combative and attacked a paramedic that was riding in the back of the ambulance, pinning the paramedic to a wall. The paramedic was able to slip out the side door of the ambulance, and Carroll said Brooks followed outside into the 1300 block of North Capitol Street Northeast.
That’s when officers who were following the ambulance got out of their squad cars to assist.
“While outside of the ambulance, the individual pushed one of the officers several times in an attempt to resist from being placed back into the ambulance,” Carroll said. “The officer attempted to stop the assaultive behavior by deploying OC spray and giving verbal commands.”
Carroll said the pepper spray “did not take effect,” and Brooks ran from the officers, crawling under a truck that was stopped in traffic and emerging with a “metal object” clutched in his hand.
“The involved officer and the witness officer gave multiple commands to the individual to drop it. The individual refused, and ran toward the involved officer with the object raised,” Carroll said.
That’s when the officer fired six shots, striking Brooks, who fell to the ground and dropped the object, Carroll said.
Brooks was pronounced dead on the scene and the metal object was recovered from the scene. Carroll said the object appears to be some sort of metal gauge or tire gauge.
“I think it’s a very tragic situation. An individual who’s obviously in a mental health crisis, it’s tragic for him, it’s tragic for his family, it’s tragic for the community, the officers that are involved,” Carroll said. “It’s a terrible outcome overall and I think it’s a tragedy for everyone involved.”
The officer who shot Brooks is a 31-year veteran who serves as a crisis intervention officer and a member of the department’s Emergency Response Team’s Auxiliary Negotiator Unit, which Carroll said requires extensive training.
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