Four Gaithersburg, Maryland, police officers are on paid administrative leave while an investigation continues into the shooting and killing of an armed suspect late last week.
In a news release Saturday, the Gaithersburg Police Department identified the four plainclothes officers involved as Sergeant Willie Delgado, Corporal Larbi Dakkouni, and officers James Doyle and Kyle Khuen.
Police said Delgado is a 17-year veteran of the department and Dakkouni is an 8-year veteran. Both Doyle and Khuen are 4-year veterans.
Gaithersburg Police Chief Mark Sroka said during a Friday news conference that the officers surveilled and later approached the suspect because they believed he was armed.
After identifying themselves to the suspect, Sroka said he fled across Md. Route 355 toward the Chelsea Garden Apartments. Sroka said the suspect displayed a handgun near the apartments, prompting the officers to fire on him.
A handgun was recovered at the scene.
All four officers are assigned to the Special Operations Bureau and are members of the Street Crimes Unit. They have since been placed on paid administrative leave while Montgomery County law enforcement investigates the shooting.
The Howard County State Attorney’s office will then review the findings of the investigation, as per an agreement between the two counties.
