An off-duty DC police officer is recuperating from eye and forehead lacerations after a shooting incident earlier this week, court documents filed in D.C. Superior Court reveal. The wounded officer, a captain with 18 years on the force, was making his way to the Fourth District station in his personal car when the alleged attack unfolded. As reported by WTOP, the assailants were driving a blue Honda Accord that later crashed in Prince George's County following a police pursuit. One of the men, William Walker, has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and fleeing a law enforcement officer and is being held without bond in D.C.
According to the officer's account, as seen in court documents, the blue car was observed to radically cut him off several times before an individual exited the vehicle and opened fire. Despite suffering injuries, the officer managed to not only drive himself to safety but also to briefly record the erratic driving, capturing a partial license plate that was crucial in tracking down the suspects. As stated by Fox 5 Atlanta, the officer, identified only as J.C. in court papers, maintained his presence of mind during a perilously close call.
D.C. Superior Court records further detail how authorities apprehended the suspects after a chase. A handgun was disposed off from the vehicle by one of the occupants and was later recovered by the police, not far from the crash site. This account, corroborated by a video from journalist John Domen, shows the close proximity of the discarded weapon to the accident location. The two suspects, Walter and his co-defendant Rasheed Thorne, who remains in custody in Maryland, face several charges, including firearms offenses, reported WTOP.
In video footage gathered, the blue Honda Accord's erratic behavior can be seen recorded by the officer just moments before the shooting broke out, as mentioned by The Washington Post. The captain's quick thinking to begin documenting the dangerously driving vehicle may have helped to swiftly identify and locate his assailants, demonstrating an extraordinary commitment to his duties, even off the clock.
