Nathan Hager, wtop.com
LANDOVER, Md. – A Prince George’s County police officer has been placed on routine administrative leave after shooting and killing an armed man.
Police say the officer, who’s identified only as a three-year veteran of the force, was patrolling an access road behind FedEx Field near Sheriff Road Monday night, when he noticed three men acting suspiciously.
The officer got out of his cruiser to try to talk to them, but they ran. The officer caught up to one of them and deployed his Taser, but the suspect was able to remove the electric tongs and keep running.
The officer caught up with him again and got into a scuffle. That’s when police say the officer saw him reaching for a silver handgun in his waistband.
“Our officer, fearing for his life, discharged his weapon twice, striking and killing the suspect,” says Julie Parker, director of media relations for Prince George’s County Police.
Officers found a loaded gun, a ski mask and a vial of what appeared to be PCP on the suspect.
He’s identified as 26-year-old Michael Anthony Bailey of District Heights.
Parker could not confirm whether Bailey was under the influence at the time of the incident, but noted that it is unusual for a person to be able remove the tongs from a deployed Taser after they’ve struck the person’s body.
“It can happen. It depends on what clothing the person might be wearing. It depends on the person’s state at the time that this Taser’s deployed. All I can tell you is, we know what was found on the suspect,” Parker said.
She also says he wasn’t wearing heavy clothing at the time.
It’s unclear what happened to the other two suspects.
Parker says the access road behind FedEx is known for drug activity and loitering.
A police academy class returned to the scene Tuesday morning to collect evidence and recovered some equipment that the officer lost during his struggle with the suspect.
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