- The Washington Times - Friday, March 15, 2013

An off-duty Metropolitan Police Department officer fired shots at a man attempting to steal the officer’s car from outside his Clinton home Friday morning, according to police.

Prince George’s County police said officers were called to the 5000 block of Vienna Drive at about 8:20 a.m. for a report of an auto theft in progress. The officer’s 9-year-old daughter was inside the car when the man entered the vehicle in an attempt to take it, but she was able to get out unharmed, said spokesman Lt. William Alexander.

County police said the car was left running when the man entered the vehicle. After the girl exited, the man drove the car towards the officer, who was not in uniform.

“Fearing for his life, he fires multiple times at the car,” Lt. Alexander said.

The car crashed into a parked vehicle in the roadway in front of the house, at which time the suspect got into a Toyota Camry and fled. It was not clear Friday whether the Toyota used in the escape was also stolen or if the suspect was struck by the gunfire as he exited the officer’s car.

County police were looking Friday for the getaway car, described as champagne-colored with temporary tags.

MPD did not identify the officer but described him as a Seventh District patrol officer with 19 years on the force.

The MPD officer, though off-duty, did fire his department-issued weapon, county police said.

Last month, an attempted burglary of an off-duty officer’s Prince George’s County home had deadly consequences.

An Alexandria Sheriff’s Deputy fatally shot an intruder inside his Fort Washington home after returning to the house late at night to find the front door ajar. The man, identified as 20-year-old Jon Adgrain Pocknett of Indian Head, ran from the home after being shot and collapsed in the front yard.

In another incident last month, county police said a man high on PCP killed one man at a Hillcrest Heights gas station and attempted to shoot an off-duty D.C. officer who witnessed the shooting. The officer did not fire a weapon, but was attempting to arrest the suspect when the man turned his gun on the officer and tried to fire. The gun would not discharge, however, and the officer was uninjured.

The suspect, 34-year-old Duane Lamar Williams of Southeast D.C., was apprehended shortly after the shooting and now faces murder charges.

• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.

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