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[h=4]Police: Cop in Md. ambush killed by friendly fire[/h]Shooting took place outside the front doors of the police station.
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Officials in Prince George's County, Maryland are calling it an "unprovoked attack." Officer Jacai Colson was a four-year veteran of the department and was just days away from his 29th birthday. VPC
This undated photo provided by the Prince George's County Police Department shows officer Jacai Colson, a four-year veteran of the Maryland county's police force. Colson was killed when a gunman fired outside a Maryland police station on March 13, 2016.(Photo: Prince George's County Police Department via AP)
A suburban Washington, D.C.,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>police officer who died in an unprovoked shootout on Sunday was killed by an "errant round" fired by one of his fellow officers, authorities said Monday.
Prince George's County, Md., Police<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Chief Henry Stawinski III said Detective Jacai Colson "drew fire to himself, and in doing so was mortally wounded” during a firefight<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in front of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the county police District III station.
Stawinski identified the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>suspect as Michael Ford and said Ford's brothers, Malik and Elijah, filmed the shooting.
He characterized the attack as a so-called suicide-by-cop, saying the three brothers<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"did not expect the shooter in this to survive" the attack.
When the shootout began, Colson was arriving, without protection, in an unmarked vehicle<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"and found himself in the middle of a gunfight," Stawinski said.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>He said Colson allowed his fellow officers to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>take a position that ended the firefight.
"Heroically, Detective Colson reacted to a set of circumstances that, frankly, I don't think he was entirely prepared for. Seeing the danger presented by Michael the shooter, he took action, and in doing so demonstrated extreme heroism, because it was his actions that allowed officers to take a position where they could intervene and neutralize the threat."
Stawinski said the other six officers<span style="color: Red;">*</span>showed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“incredible restraint” while engaging Ford in the midafternoon attack, which unfolded on a busy street with homes nearby and cars passing by.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"They are not panicking," he said. "They are not shooting randomly."
He said the Fords fired at several passing cars as well as an ambulance<span style="color: Red;">*</span>during the shootout.
Police earlier had said evidence in the case showed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Michael Ford "intended to die during a gunbattle with police." He was wounded in Sunday's shootout, police said, but was expected to survive.
Stawinski, talking to reporters, urged anyone with more information on the case to step forward.
Flags were flying at half-staff across Maryland to honor<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the fallen officer, four-year veteran Jacai Colson, who was the victim of an<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"unprovoked attack" outside police headquarters,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Police Chief Henry Stawinski III said. He declined to discuss a motive for the shooting.
Colson<span style="color: Red;">*</span>would have turned 29 this week, police said.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch called<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the attack "a heinous act of violence and a cowardly crime." She said Colson was "a consummate public servant and a proud defender of the law — a young guardian raised in the tradition of service to his community."
Lynch said the Department of Justice is assisting the county police department in the investigation.
Colson, who played football at Randolph-Macon College a decade ago, was a respectful, high-character young man, his college football coach Pedro Arruza told The Washington Post.
"To be honest, he wasn’t a great player, but he was a really great person," Arruza said.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he was "shocked and saddened" by Colson's death.
"It is my hope that his proud legacy of commitment and passion for law enforcement and serving others will provide some comfort in the difficult days that lie ahead," Hogan said in a statement.
Contributing: Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
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