ROCKVILLE, Md. — A Montgomery County jury is expected to continue deliberations Friday to determine the fate of a former Pentagon police officer charged with murder after a shooting in 2021 outside the Takoma Park apartment complex where he lived resulted in two deaths.
Former Pentagon Force Protection Agency officer David Dixon is standing trial in the deaths of 32-year-old Dominique Williams and 38-year-old James Lionel Johnson.
According to testimony in the trial that began Monday, Dixon was in civilian clothes walking to his car to go to work at the Pentagon on April 7, 2021 when he went to investigate a suspicious car and the sound of breaking glass. Dixon testified that he believed he had caught car burglars in the act, and aimed to make a citizen's arrest by stopping the car they were driving away in.
The former officer testified he fired in self-defense after the driver of the Lexus he was attempting to stop drove the vehicle at him. The driver, Michael Thomas, survived the shooting and testified during the trial.
In a dramatic afternoon of final arguments Thursday, a 911 call Thomas made after the shooting was played for the jury. Thomas was heard shouting at the operator that he believed police shot at him and that he was fleeing for his life as he drove his wounded friends to a hospital in Prince George's County.
Thomas admitted in the call that the trio was breaking into vehicles to steal tools when they were confronted by Dixon.
Jurors also saw security camera video of the incident, which showed Dixon, with his .40 pistol drawn, chasing the car as it backed away from a van the men had been breaking into.
Dixon then stood in front of the Lexus and pointed the gun at the car.
According to a recording of Thomas talking to investigators, Thomas said Dixon was shouting at him to turn off the ignition. Thomas said he then decided to hit the accelerator and leave.
The video then shows the Lexus beginning to move toward Dixon, who shoots his gun as the car passes him. Dixon fired four more shots at the rear of the car as it drove away.
Dixon was shooting in self defense, attorney Bill Brennan told jurors. Brennan said his client was alone, facing down three suspects in a vehicle that could have been used to run him down and kill him.
"If Michael Thomas had put that car in park instead of drive, Dominique Williams and James Johnson would be alive today," Brennan said.
Brennan said the community expects law enforcement officers to take action to stop crime, even when they are off duty or not in the jurisdiction where they work.
"We don't want our police officers to look the other way and ignore what's going on," he argued.
But prosecutor John McCarthy countered that Dixon had no authority to act as a police officer in Montgomery County and that he committed two murders by shooting at fleeing suspects posing no threat to his safety after they had driven by.
"The shooting doesn't start until the vehicle is past him," McCarthy said to the jury. "Is it reasonable to do this when the danger is fleeing away from you?"
According to Takoma Park Police, Dixon was also charged in an alleged confrontation with an unhoused woman in May 2020. He's alleged to have threatened her with a shotgun and pepper spray after she allegedly tried to assault him in the lobby of the Takoma Overlook Condominium complex.
Takoma Park Police officials said they did not become aware of the incident or how serious it was until news media published a video of the alleged assault. After it became public, police added a charge against Dixon of assault in that case.