The state attorney general announced Tuesday that his office will not seek charges against police who fatally shot a man in July who was loading a gun at a Gaithersburg bus stop.
The deadly encounter involved officers from the police departments in Gaithersburg and Montgomery County and resulted in the death of Elliott Powers, according to a statement from the office of state Attorney General Anthony G. Brown.
The office’s Independent Investigations Division, or IID, concluded that “subject officers did not commit a crime under Maryland law.” IID reviews all police-involved fatalities in the state.
Following the shooting, some in Gaithersburg have accused local officials of paying too little attention to the Lost Knife Road area, where the shooting and a stabbing the day before occurred.
Among the responding officers to the July 12 incident were Gaithersburg Sgt. Christopher Leach, and officers Carissa Fortin and Noah Whelan, and Montgomery County officers Robert Bullock, Andrew Hanko and Michael Wengloski, the statement said.
Leach and another officer encountered a man, later identified as Powers, sitting on a bench at the bus stop who fit the description provided by dispatchers. Leach asked Powers to show his hands. In response, Powers drew a 9mm handgun from a backpack on the bench next to him. Leach and the officers backed away, drew their guns, and repeatedly ordered Powers to drop the weapon, the statement said.
Powers did not follow police orders and instead “chambered a live round by racking the handgun’s slide,” the statement said. “Powers told officers that he would not drop the gun, and that officers would have to kill him.”
Additional officers arrived, arranging themselves in a a horseshoe-shaped perimeter. Leach requested a negotiator and directed officers to temporarily move away from Powers in an effort to de-escalate, according to the attorney general.
When other officers moved to begin evacuating a nearby shopping area, Powers raised his handgun in the the direction of the officers, who responded with gunshots.
Officers then secured Powers’ handgun and began providing medical aid until emergency medical services arrived. Powers died on scene. No officers were injured.
Body camera and dashcam footage released by state officials in August document officers negotiating with Powers, 46, of Rockville.
“No, no, no, no, no,” Leach, a 14-year veteran of the Gaithersburg Police, is heard telling Powers as he pulls back and retreats behind a cruiser. Leach urges Powers to show his hands. He alerts other officers for backup.
“Y’all f---king with the wrong person. Y’all need to get the f--k,” Powers tells officers.
Another officer tells Powers, “Come on, Elliott! Don’t do anything stupid. Let’s work through this,” he says. “We want to see you here tomorrow.”
Crime scene technicians from Maryland State Police found 17 spent .223 cartridge cases and eight spent 9mm cartridge cases from the subject officers’ weapons at the scene, according to the IID declination report. Technicians also recovered Powers’ handgun, a Sig Sauer P320 9mm, which was loaded with seven live 9mm rounds in its magazine and one live round in its chamber.
Several people who attended a community event in Gaithersburg last month said it should have focused more on Powers’ death.
“His life mattered,” one person shouted. “You’re killing Black men in this damn county.”
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