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At around 6:45 a.m. on Jan. 24, members of the Metropolitan Police Department responded to the 2100 block of Benning Road NE to assist a man who was in crisis, according to Chief Pamela Smith.
Responding officers - one of whom was a highly-trained crisis intervention specialist - encountered the man, Clifford Brooks, and conversed with him for upwards of two hours, she said, before he relented and was taken into custody by paramedics for treatment and evaluation.
However, the ordeal was only in its infancy.
Smith said that while Brooks was being transported he became combative and attacked the firefighter/paramedic who was riding with him, pinning her against the inside wall of the ambulance. She was able to slip out the side door of the ambulance and flee, and the man followed her outside near the 1300 block of North Capitol Street near New York Avenue, leading to a heavy police response in the area.
Another officer was assaulted, officials said, and one officer used pepper spray in an attempt to stop the attack, though it did not take effect, and Brooks fled through traffic and hid under a truck on North Capitol Street.
He still wasn't done.
According to Smith, the stubborn man stayed under the truck before eventually relenting and emerging from under the vehicle with a metallic item in his hand.
Brooks was "strongly" ordered to drop it, though he continued approaching officers, who at the same time were retreating, prompting one to fire a shot, which struck and killed him, despite paramedics' efforts to revive him.
The incident is now being investigated by Internal Affairs detectives in DC and will be probed by the US Attorney's Office.
Investigators say that the officer involved - a member of the Emergency Response Team’s Auxiliary Negotiator Unit - is a 31-year veteran of the department and has been placed on administrative leave, per department policy.
He was wearing a body camera at the time, which will be provided to investigators.
“This is a tragic situation, and our condolences go to the family,” DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly added.
The incident led to multiple lane closures in the area, tying up traffic in DC while the department investigated the shooting.
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