Current Events > Officer shoots and kills cuffed suspect who was wearing a seatbelt inside car

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Officers believe the suspect may have been high on PCP, a police spokesperson says.

A Prince George's County police officer shot and killed a suspect who was handcuffed and wearing a seat belt inside a police cruiser Monday night in Temple Hills, Maryland, a spokesperson for the police department says.

Police received a 911 call around 8 p.m. about a driver who struck multiple vehicles in the Silver Hill area and on St. Barnabas Road, Prince George's County Police Department spokesperson Christina Cotterman said.

Officers found the suspected driver on Winston Street and immediately smelled what they believed to be PCP coming from the car, Cotterman said.

They handcuffed the driver and put him inside the front passenger seat of the cruiser and put the seat belt on him, Cotterman said.

One officer got into the driver's seat of the cruiser while the officers waited on a drug recognition expert to come to the scene, according to Cotterman.

Two witnesses told police they heard a struggle coming from the cruiser and heard loud bangs, Cotterman said.

The suspect was struck multiple times by the officer's weapon, according to Cotterman.
Officers then tried to save the suspect's life, she said.

He died a short time later at the hospital.
Cotterman said the officer did not have a body camera.

The officer is on administrative leave as the department investigates.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/officer-shoots-kills-suspect-inside-cruiser-in-temple-hills-police/2204889/

I would assume proper police protocol isn't to put a suspect in the passengers seat and then have an officer get into the drivers seat? Especially someone suspected of being on PCP?

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I can see how it's possible that the dude who was high on PCP might attack an officer while wearing handcuffs, but I just can't get past the question of why the fuck he was placed in the front seat

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Killmonger posted...

The suspect was struck multiple times by the officer's weapon, according to Cotterman.
Officers then tried to save the suspect's life, she said.

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AngelsNAirwav3s posted...

I would assume proper police protocol isn't to put a suspect in the passengers seat and then have an officer get into the drivers seat? Especially someone suspected of being on PCP?

actually I learned on live PD it's the preferred practice in some states to detain someone in the front seat while they investigate. In Oklahoma they always pull em over and put em in the front seat, then ask them why the car smells like pot etc

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AngelsNAirwav3s posted...

I would assume proper police protocol isn't to put a suspect in the passengers seat and then have an officer get into the drivers seat? Especially someone suspected of being on PCP?

While the protocol might be different for someone suspected of PCP, I've seen enough Live PD to know that departments that sit suspects in the front seat of their cruisers to talk with them are not uncommon.

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Never in my life have I heard anyone claim they know what PCP smells like

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