District of Columbia police on Wednesday said an officer gunned down a man who had assaulted a paramedic and another officer before coming at police with a metal object.
Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said the shooting took place at about 9:45 a.m. after the man busted out of the ambulance he was riding in near the North Capitol Street Northwest underpass that intersects with New York Avenue NW.
Chief Smith said the man, who wasn’t named but was said to be in his 40s, attacked a police officer who arrived on the scene moments after the suspect assaulted the paramedic in the back of the ambulance.
Officers tried to pepper-spray the man to subdue him, the chief said, but the spray had no effect. That’s when police said the man ran into traffic and hid underneath a truck.
Chief Smith said the man eventually came out from under the truck with a metal object raised in his hand.
Authorities said officers ordered the man to drop the object, but he continued to come toward police while holding the instrument. Chief Smith said an officer then shot the man, who died at the scene.
Police didn’t say how many shots the officer fired or if the man was experiencing a drug-related crisis.
The officer was placed on administrative leave pending a Metropolitan Police Department internal investigation.
Chief Smith said the suspect was first encountered by police at about 6:45 a.m. after they were called about a man in crisis in the 2500 block of Benning Road Northeast.
Authorities talked with the man using crisis intervention techniques for nearly two hours before the man voluntarily agreed to go to the hospital for treatment.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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