The facts behind the unfortunate shooting death of Black Maryland police officer Jacai Colson took a turn, this after the Prince George’s County police chief shared new developments. On Wednesday, Chief Hank Stawinski said that Colson was shot by an officer who “deliberately aimed” at his colleague in the heat of the gun exchange with suspects.
Colson, a four-year veteran of the force, was an undercover narcotics detective and was not wearing a uniform when gunman Michael Ford and his brothers began to open fire at a Landover police station. According to a report from a local NBC news outlet, Colson was thought to be a suspect by his fellow officer in a tragic case of mistaken identity.
From News 4 Washington:
Sources close to the investigation told News4 the officer fired the fatal shot in a case of mistaken identity, confusing Officer 1st Class Jacai Colson, 28, for a suspect.
The police chief declined to characterize the shooting but said in a news conference Wednesday afternoon there was no indication the officer who shot Colson harbored any “malice” toward him.
Colson was dressed in plainclothes and had exited an unmarked police car when he tried to take down the shooter, police said.
[…]
“The shot that struck and killed Detective Colson was deliberately aimed at him by another police officer,” Stawinski said.
Colson was a native of Boothwyn, Pennsylvania and would have celebrated his 29th birthday this week.
Michael Ford, and brothers Elijah and Malik Ford, are all being held without bond for a series of charges related to Colson’s death.
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Photo: Prince George’s County Police
