Off duty Pentagon police officer charged in deadly shooting

TAKOMA PARK, MD. — An off-duty Pentagon police officer charged with murder in the shootings of two men outside a Maryland condominium building is facing separate assault charges stemming from an earlier incident at the same complex.

Takoma Park Police Department detectives obtained video that shows David Hall Dixon assaulting a woman with a gun at Takoma Overlook Condominiums on May 6, 2020, the department said in a statement Saturday.

After seeing the video, detectives charged Dixon with first- and second-degree assault and use of a firearm in a felony or violent crime, police said.

The department said it learned of the video on Friday, the day when Dixon was arrested in connection with Wednesday’s shooting at the same complex where he has lived.

Dixon fired his gun at two men as their car was driving away, presenting no threat to the officer or justifiable reason for him to shoot at them, police said.

“Our investigation revealed that Mr. Dixon’s overview of events was inconsistent with the evidence and facts in the case,” Takoma Park Police Chief Antonio DeVaul said Friday.

The men who died have been identified as Dominique Williams, 32, of Hyattsville, and James Lionel Johnson, 38, of District Heights. Dixon also is charged with attempted second-degree murder for firing into the vehicle that Michael Thomas, 36, was driving, police said.

A relative of Johnson told the Washington Post on Friday that their family was still trying to understand what happened.

“He treated everyone that crossed his path with love and respect, like they were family,” said Marcus Cornegay, a cousin. “We as a family are really struggling with this trying to put logic around why he was taken from us.”

Daniel Walsh, acting director of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, said in a statement that Dixon was placed on administrative leave pending the results of an internal administrative investigation.