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The Independent Investigations Division (IID) of Maryland’s Office of the Attorney General has identified the shooting victim as Frederick resident Aaron Mensah, who was shot and killed by deputies after making a sudden move toward them early on Tuesday, Nov. 29.
According to the IID, the deputies involved have been identified as:
- Deputy First Class Casey Boetcher, who has been with the agency for two-and-a-half years;
- Deputy Travis Stely, who has been with the agency since July and has a total of three years of law enforcement experience;
- Deputy Nathan McLeroy, who has been with the agency since September and has a total of six years of law enforcement experience.
The deputies were all assigned to the patrol operations section.
Officials said that the fatal incident began shortly before 2:15 a.m. on Tuesday, when members of the Frederick County Sheriff's Office responded to the 5800 block of Haller place, where there was a reported stabbing that was phoned in by a woman calling from the site of the initial incident advising that her parents were being attacked by her brother.
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said that upon arrival, they found an adult woman inside the home - believed to be the victim's mother - with stab wounds, and a second man - believed to be the father - further down the road outside of the residence.
First responders rendered aid to the woman, who was airlifted to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma and was listed in stable condition with superficial wounds on Tuesday morning. The father was treated and transported to Frederick Health Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
While assisting the two stabbing victims, investigators said that a second group of deputies, including Boetcher, Stely, and McLerowy arrived at the scene to assist, and they were able to Mensah near the crime scene.
According to a Maryland Attorney General spokesperson, officers began to speak with Mensah, giving him commands to "drop the knife," to which he did not comply, forcing a deputy to fire a less-lethal beanbag shotgun round at Mensah.
It is alleged that Mensah then began to rapidly move toward the officer, prompting them to deploy a Taser device in an attempt to subdue him, with three deputies firing their service weapons at him, striking and killing him.
A knife was recovered at the scene near the suspect at the shooting scene, officials say.
Both the homicide and deputies-involved shooting remain an ongoing investigation between the Maryland Attorney General's Office Independent investigative Division (IID) and the sheriff’s office, according to officials.
Jenkins made note that the investigations are parallel, with the IID handling the officer-involved shooting and his office investigating the homicide.
Thomas Lester, a spokesperson for the IID, said that the deputies who discharged their weapons were not wearing body-worn cameras, but others at the scene were, which recorded portions of the incident.
Jenkins said that “there are a lot of parts all happening quickly,” in terms of the investigation, which is in its infancy. He also added that though the victim was armed with a knife, not a gun, he still posed a possible major threat to the responding deputies.
“Oftentimes, law enforcement is faced with situations when people have knives or bladed objects, and that’s just as dangerous,” he said. “The rule of thumb is that anyone within 21 feet can get to you before you can fire. So there is just as much of a risk with a knife or a gun”
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