Body-camera video showing what led up to a deadly police shooting at a Gaithersburg bus stop in July has been released as part of the Maryland Attorney General’s investigation.
The video released on Friday shows officers from Gaithersburg police and Montgomery County police arriving on scene and attempting to negotiate with Elliott Powers, 46, of Rockville for more than 10 minutes before ultimately opening fire, killing the man.
The incident began on July 12 when a bus driver noticed Powers at the bus stop along Lost Knife Roadin Montgomery Village, according to police. The bus driver told investigators he saw Powers with a gun, appearing to load the weapon.
The video released by the Office of the Attorney General shows the incident from multiple angles captured by two body cameras and two dash cameras. The first portion of the video can be seen in the media player above. A word of warning: this video might be disturbing to some viewers and discretion is advised.
As officers arrived on scene in the video, Powers can be seen sitting at the bus stop with his hand near his backpack. A person who is not involved is sitting next to him.
One of the officers can be heard in the video asking Powers to show his hand, but the man can be seen reaching into the bag and the officers pull their guns and go for cover behind a cruiser. The bystander stands up and starts to get away from Powers. At about 1:24 into the video, officers see the gun and order Powers to drop it.
Over the next 10 or so minutes, officers can be heard on the video speaking with Powers. They ask him multiple times to drop the weapon and attempt to de-escalate the situation.
About 14:23 into the video, the officers can be seen and heard opening fire on Powers. After confirming the gun is no longer in his hands, the officers approach the bus stop to render aid to Powers. The glass from the bus stop shattered during the gunfire, leaving shards of glass all around Powers’ body.
On the day of the shooting, sources close to the investigation told 7News the officers opened fire when Powers pointed his gun at them.
At about 44:25 in the video, the perspective has shifted to a dash camera inside one of the police cruisers. The bus stop is seen on the far right of the screen. Powers is not fully visible from this angle, but he does appear to raise his hand in the direction of the officers while holding a gun.
According to the OAG, the MCPD officers who opened fire have been identified as OfficerMichael Wengloski, a12.5-year veteran; Officer Andrew Hanko, an8-year veteran;andOfficerRobert Bullock, a 7-year veteran. The GPD officers who shot Powers are identified as OfficerNoah Whelan, a 5-year veteran; Officer Carissa Fortin, an 8.5-year veteran; and SergeantChristopher Leach, a 14-year veteran.
The shooting is being investigated by the OAG’s Independent Investigations Division to determine whether the use of deadly force was lawful. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the OAG’s office at 410-576-7070.
