The shooting happened in the 4000 block of Majestic Lane near Greenbriar. Both officers were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Fairfax County police said.
According to police, Jamal Wali, 36, of Fairfax refused to obey officer commands during a traffic stop for speeding. Police said he was combative and “argumentative” before reaching for a firearm. He then opened fire and shot the two officers, police said.
Police officer Ian Lachapelle, a two-year veteran of the department, then discharged his firearm, police said. Wali died from his injuries.
Wali worked with American military forces overseas before 2014, providing translation services, Davis said.
“When we self-imposed this body camera release policy about four years ago, we did it because we know that our community demands transparency from their local police department,” said Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis during a news conference Friday.
In addition to the body camera footage, police also released footage from a GoPro that Wali had on at the time of the incident.
“It is always regrettable when a life is lost,” Davis said. “You heard him articulate during the traffic stop that he had four kids, he lived nearby and was married with four children, and the impact on those children is unimaginable.”
Davis praised the officer that deployed his weapon saying that he saved the other officers on the scene that day.
“His deployment of that deadly force saved the lives of the two officers that were on the driver’s side of the car, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.
Davis said that a single bullet traveled through the arms of both officers. The bullet traveled through the bicep of one of the officers and then out the other side and then in and out of the forearm of the second officer.
“In that scenario, it would be malfeasance for a police officer to walk away from that traffic stop. We certainly can’t do that. We know he was armed. We saw how agitated he was, he was hostile and to simply allow that motorist just because it was a tough set of circumstances where you’re being screamed at and cursed at and yelled at, that’s what we’re paid to do,” Davis said.
That same bullet then traveled across the street and shattered the rear window of a parked car in a shopping center, according to Davis.
See the released body camera footage here.
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