It was Sunday night that Colson jumped into action after police say 22-year-old Michael Ford of Landover pulled out a gun and opened fire on police officers, an ambulance and passing cars outside the District III police station in Palmer Park.
Advertisement
The chief identified the fallen officer as Jacai Colson, a four-year veteran of the department.
Colson, wearing plainclothes, was accidentally shot by a fellow officer, who may have mistaken him for one of the suspects, according to a preliminary finding by the police.
Officer Jacai Colson died after he was hit in an exchange of gunfire outside the Prince George’s County District III station on Sunday afternoon. Colson, a four-year veteran of the forc… They had every opportunity to seek medical help.
Police have said that the shooter, Michael Ford, and brothers Malik Ford and Elijah Ford, who recorded the attack on police on their cellphones, would be charged in the shooting. Michael Ford had no outstanding warrants, Stawinski said.
A court document provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday by prosecutors said that during the shooting, officers asked Malik and Elijah Ford, who were sitting in a vehicle, where the shooter was.
– Prince George’s County police say they have cell phone video that captured the gunman dictating his last will and testament, and that the video was recorded just minutes before his two brothers drove him to the District III station.
Colson was assigned to the department’s narcotic enforcement division and had worked as an undercover officer – though that had nothing to do with his killing, Stawinski said. Instead, an officer out of uniform who had just arrived at the station “heroically” diverted the gunfire toward himself – and died in the shootout.
At the hearing, Commissioner Thomas did not find probable cause for all of the counts against Malik, and Elijah, however, she did find probable cause for the attempted first degree murder charges, as well as conspiracy which resulted in the “no bond” status. The chief described the attack as a so-called suicide-by-cop, saying the three brothers “did not expect the shooter (Michael Ford) in this to survive”.
Undercover narcotics officer Jacai Colson was killed in Sunday’s gunfight outside the station in Prince George’s County, wounded by a bullet fired by one of his colleagues.
He said the officer was taken to the same hospital by police.
Officer Colson, who was off-duty at the time, pulled up to the station just as the shooting occurred.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci). Prince George’s County police chief Henry P. Stawinski speaks about the murder of Jacai Colson, during a news conference at Prince George’s County Hospital Center, on Sunday, March 13, 2016, in Cheverly, Md.
Forensics will officially determine which one of the officers fired the deadly gunshot.
Once the first shot was sacked, several officers fired back at the suspect, Stawinski said.
That woman identified the men as Malik and Michael Ford. Police shot Michael Ford.
NBC Washington reports that brothers Malik Ford and Michael Ford, both of Temple Hills, Md., were arrested, but they have not said which brother opened fire and how the other was connected. Police say they sat in a auto, recording the entire incident on their cell phones.
Prince George’s County police chief Hank Stawinski called it an “unprovoked attack”.
He remembered Colson as a “son, brother, friend, police officer, and a hero” – someone with an infectious smile and tremendous personality.
The Prince George’s County Police Department’s District III station is next door to county police headquarters.
“Jacai could light up a room”.
Flags will remain at half-staff until interment. He would have celebrated his 29th birthday this week.
Advertisement
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch also issued a statement honoring his service.
