WASHINGTON — Court documents released Wednesday are giving us a clearer picture of a tense situation near the U.S. Capitol Tuesday afternoon.
The incident was first reported around 12:40 p.m. Capitol Police Officer Joseph Bravo was approached by a witness who said they were walking through Lower Senate Park, not far from the Capitol Building, when they saw a man holding something by his side, but the witness was not sure what it was. The witness told Officer Bravo the man seemed fidgety and uneasy, according to documents. The witness was able to point out the man sitting on a bench before they left the area.
The Capitol Police officer approached the man, later identified as Ahmir Lavon Merrell of Atlanta. The court documents say as Officer Bravo approached Merrell, he noticed what the documents call an "AR-Style Pistol" clutched to his side. The officer pointed his gun at Merrell and told him to step away from the firearm.
According to the documents, Merrell responded by telling the officer, "For you to get this gun from me, you are going to have to kill me."
Officer Bravo then called for backup to the park. As Bravo called for backup, Merrell stood up. An assisting officer was able to circle around the armed man and shot him with a Taser. Merrell dropped the gun and fell to the ground.
Documents say as the Taser was active, Merrell reached for the gun again. More help arrived on the scene, and officers were able to place Merrell in handcuffs. As he was brought into custody, Merrell asked officers, "Why didn't you shoot me, you should have killed me."
Officers conducted a search after the arrest and found no other weapons. During the arrest, officers discovered a suspicious bag on the bench where Merrell was sitting. The park was tied off while the bag, deemed a suspicious package, was investigated. No hazardous devices were detected, according to documents. However, a search of the bag found a bus ticket and a sealed box containing rifle rounds.
The firearm was identified as a Diamondback Arms AR-Style Pistol, model DB-15. Documents say the gun was loaded and also had a 30-round high capacity ammunition feeding device containing 26 rounds. Another feeding device was found at the scene. A total of 78 rounds of ammunition were recovered Tuesday, according to the documents.
Documents say the rifle's serial number was readable, but efforts to remove the serial number were present.
Following his arrest and a visit to a hospital for evaluation, a special agent conducted an interview with Merrell, who waived his rights and agreed to answer questions.
During the interview, Merrell told the agent that he got the rifle and ammunition in Georgia and traveled by bus to D.C. with the gun. Merrell said he spent the night sleeping in the Congress Heights Metro station with the loaded gun under his sweatshirt.
Merrell was charged with unlawful activities, assault on a federal officer, assault with a deadly weapon, felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a license and other firearm charges. According to US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger, Merrell is a registered sex offender in Georgia.