Newsham: Body-worn cameras captured shootings of 2 DC police officers
WASHINGTON - One of the two DC police officers shot in northeast Washington on Thursday night has been released from the hospital, Acting Police Chief Peter Newsham said Friday afternoon. Newsham also said both of the injured officers had their body-worn cameras on, and they captured video of the shootings.
Newsham spoke to reporters to update the conditions of the officers and offer new details in the investigation into the shootings near the intersection of Holbrook and Morse Streets NE, which left one suspect dead.
According to investigators, officers were responding to previous sounds of gunshots in the area when they attempted to stop a subject, who then tried to flee and the officers' commands to stop. There was a struggle, and an exchange of gunfire.
The suspect has been identified as 47-year-old Timothy Williams. Newsham said it's not clear where he lived because he had no fixed address. Shortly after the suspect was shot, Newsham says multiple officers quickly responded to try and help him, but he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Newsham said he has watched the footage from the officers' body-worn cameras, and he cautioned against reading too much into the video shot by a man who witnessed the shootings because it only shows one view of what happened and the body-worn camera footage is much more comprehensive. The witness posted his video of the incident on Twitter Friday morning, and spoke to FOX 5's Lindsay Watts about what he saw.
Newsham also said Mayor Muriel Bowser is considering whether to release the body-worn camera video to the public. Newsham said he would recommend that the video is released.
Investigators believe only one of the officers fired his service weapon during the incident. Watts asked Newsham if he believes the suspect shot both officers, but he said he was not saying that definitively because the investigation is still underway. Newsham did say there's an indication that a weapon recovered at the scene, which appears to be the suspect's, was fired.
Both officers will be on administrative leave, which is standard policy, while the investigation is underway. They have not been identified by name, but both are at least three-year veterans of the Metropolitan Police Department, and both are members of the Crime Suppression Team in the Fifth District, Newsham said. The Crime Suppression Team was in the area where the shootings took place before they happened, as there had already been reports of earlier gunshots.
One of the injured officers, Newsham said, had to be rushed to surgery Thursday night. His injuries were serious, but Newsham says his prognosis is good.
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