Cops: Gunman's 2 Brothers Filmed Police Station Attack

Friendly fire believed to have killed officer
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 15, 2016 2:19 AM CDT
Cops: Gunman's 2 Brothers Filmed Police Station Attack
This image provided by the State of Maryland shows alleged gunman Michael Ford, 22.   (State of Maryland via AP)

Police in Maryland have been devastated to discover that the officer killed in a gun battle after a suspect opened fire on a police station was apparently shot by a fellow officer. Authorities say Jacai Colson, an undercover narcotics officer in plainclothes, arrived at the station in an unmarked car during the gunfight on Sunday and "heroically" began exchanging fire with the gunman, the Washington Post reports. It's not clear whether he was shot accidentally or by an officer who thought he was an attacker. Alleged gunman Michael Ford, 22, was shot and injured during the attack. Police say he "intended to die during a gun battle with police" and recorded his last will and testament on video just before opening fire on the District III station in Landover.

Police say two of Ford's brothers, 21-year-old Malik Ford and 18-year-old Elijah Ford, stood by and filmed the shootout. All three brothers will face charges, including second-degree murder, over the bizarre attack, which police say appears to have been planned without the involvement of outside groups. "Michael had a history of mental illness," Prince George's County Police Chief Hank Stawinski told reporters on Monday. "But what is more troubling to me is that anybody could stand by so callously and do nothing." He said the department has been crushed by Colson's death. "To learn that in your attempt to preserve life and protect people, that you've struck another defender down, that's particularly devastating," he said, per the Baltimore Sun. (More Maryland stories.)

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