No criminal charges will be filed against the Prince William County police officers who shot and killed a man armed with a crossbow near Potomac Mills mall this summer after a tense, hourslong standoff.
The incident began during the afternoon of July 17, when officers said they tracked down 52-year-old Harrison Charles Deppe, who was wanted for brandishing a gun at strangers the day before. He later ran toward the Potomac Mills mall in Woodbridge, Virginia, armed with a crossbow.
Investigators said that’s when police fatally shot him.
No one was hurt in the incident the day before, and Deppe drove off. Police then continued searching for Deppe and later learned he may have been involved in a similar confrontation on Birchdale Avenue in Dale City.
When officers finally located Deppe’s car parked on Potomac Mills Circle, they said they spent several hours trying to talk him into surrendering peacefully. But when they moved in to arrest him, police said Deppe got out of the vehicle and ran toward the mall with a crossbow in hand. Officers opened fire, killing him.
In July, the Prince William Times reported the fatal shooting took place when Deppe was about 20 yards from the entrance to Nordstrom Rack. Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham said during a news conference at the time that Deppe threatened officers several times during the encounter.
No officers or bystanders were injured.
According to a police statement, the criminal investigation surrounding the incident was conducted by the regional critical incident response team, which is made up of investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies in the Northern Virginia area.
Now that the officers have been cleared of criminal wrongdoing, next, the Prince William County Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards will conduct its own internal review. The department’s Use of Deadly Force Review Board will then make a final determination on whether the shooting followed department policy, the statement said.
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