Maryland o∞ cer killed by friendly fire during ambush
cheverly, md. » An undercover police officer was killed by his own colleagues’ fire as he responded to the ambush of his police station by a gunman with a death wish, a police chief said Monday.
While Officer JacaiColson lay mortally wounded Sunday, the gunman’s two brothers coldly recorded the firefight, said Prince George’s County Police Chief Hank Stawinski as he provided the first details of the gunbattle.
The gunman had been spraying bullets, hitting cars and even an ambulance, to drawofficers outside the station. Colson also responded, jumping out of an unmarked car and wearing civilian clothes without body armor, the chief said.
In the confusion, despite their restraint, one of the other officers’ bullets hit Colson, the chief said.
Colson demonstrated “extreme heroism” because he “drew fire to himself and in doing so was mortally wounded,” the chief said.
Colsonwas declared dead in a hospital. The gunman, identified as Michael Ford, was expected to survive. His brothers, Malik and Elijah Ford, were taken into custody and will face dozens of charges between them, the chief said.
Stawinski said federal agents have determined that there was no larger plot behind the ambush, adding, “This appears to be the act of the Ford brothers, for their own motives. We have reason to suspect that the Ford brothers did not expect ( Michael Ford) to survive his encounter with police.”
Stawinski said there were no outstanding warrants against Ford. That information conflicts with a sheriff’s report from Greenville, S. C., that said Ford, 22, was being sought on suspicion of assaulting his wife there the day before.
Colson, who would have turned 29 this week, was a four- year department veteranwhoworked as an undercover narcotics officer.
Sheriff’s Deputy Dominick Chambers, a friend from the police academy, said they celebrated their fouryear anniversary as officers on Saturday, the day before Colsonwas killed.
“He alwayswanted to be a police officer,” Chambers said.