Tempers rise at Gaithersburg community meeting as questions arise over police shooting

A community meeting in Gaithersburg Thursday evening turned hostile as several attendees demanded that county officials provide answers to questions about a recent police shooting.

Council member Dawn Luedtke hosted the event, which was attended by more than a dozen other local elected officials and attracted several dozen people. It was billed as a way for residents of the area surrounding South Lake Elementary School, where the meeting was held, to learn about local mental health, public safety and other services.

But some attendees voiced frustration that the event was not focused on Montgomery County’s response to the July 12 police shooting of Elliott Powers, a 46-year-old man from Rockville.

Police said that they fired at Powers after he racked the slide of a handgun and raised it in the direction of an officer.

Those upset with event organizers said they distrust police accounts and need to know more about the circumstances preceding Powers’ death.

“His life mattered,” one attendee shouted as Luedtke addressed the crowd. “You’re killing Black men in this damn county.”

A few attendees yelled “shame” at Luedtke when she declined to comment on speculation that Powers was mentally ill. She said she could not comment until an independent investigation of Powers’ death is completed, because of the state’s Police Accountability Act of 2021.

“What happened to Mr. Powers was tragic and it has created anxiety,” Luedtke said. “No one up here can talk about his health records, if known, because that is protected information, and he deserves that privacy.”

Powers died in an area that some activists say gets too few county resources. The day before Powers’ death, a man was stabbed near the same stretch of Lost Knife Road.

On Thursday, attendees first walked among tables set up by community organizations and ate free pizza. County staffers and county and Gaithersburg police then gave short presentations on community programs.

Tempers flared during the presentations. A handful of community members shouted over the speakers, asking to move on to the scheduled Q&A session, in which attendees could submit questions for public officials to answer.

Tiffany Kelly, an activist who ran for Gaithersburg mayor last year, said the event should have allowed for more community feedback. She turned her back in protest as Luedtke spoke.

Kelly expressed her frustrations in an email to Luedtke on Friday morning.

“The presentations did not meaningfully address race, racism, police killings, or abductions,” she said in the email obtained by The Banner. “Those realities entered the room only because community members forced them into the conversation.”

Throughout the event, several participants shouted over presenters or other attendees, some of whom pushed back, saying that they wanted to hear the presentations or answers to questions asked by community members.

“They left their families behind to be here tonight,” one attendee said of the county officials. “Let them speak.”

Rubén Rosario, who directs the Upcounty Regional Services Center, ceded his presentation time to the crowd after some attendees shouted that they wanted to move on to questions.

Luedtke told participants during Thursday’s event that she wants to hold additional conversations about community safety and stayed after the town hall to speak with attendees.

“I have been screamed at tonight, and I’m trying my best to answer everybody’s questions,” she said. “I’m sorry that I have not met the moment for you.”