SUITLAND, Md. — Officials released a video on Monday that captured the moment a Prince George's County Police officer shot and killed a man in February.
According to the Independent Investigations Division (IID) of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, the body-worn camera footage shows the deadly shooting of 31-year-old Melvin Jay of Suitland.
The officer who shot Jay has been identified as Prince George’s County Police Officer Braxton Shelton. Police say Shelton has a total of four years of law enforcement experience and is assigned to the Bureau of Patrol.
According to officials, police were called to the 5100 block of Suitland Road minutes before 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 1 after someone reported that someone had broken into their home. The nearly 10-minute video includes the initial 911 call and what happened when officers found Jay, who lived at the home but did not call 911.
Before the body-worn camera footage is shown, the video shares a recording of the initial 911 call.
"I got someone breaking and entering my house," the person who called 911 can be heard saying in the recording. "They taking [expletive] out of my house right now."
When dispatch asks if the caller is at the house, he says no, adding that he is at a firehouse "getting taken care of." The caller says he needs the police to come to his home right now.
When the dispatcher presses for more information, the caller reiterates that he is at a firehouse and that a neighbor alerted him to someone inside his home.
"They say he's taking [expletive] out of my house," the caller says. "I'm about to shoot right there, right now. I'm literally right here at the firehouse. My face was busted open, so I'm getting my face taken care of. I'm about to shoot right there, right now."
The call ends with dispatch agreeing to send someone over to check things out.
Prince George's County Police say when officer arrived, they found the door to the home ajar. The officer found Jay inside and say he attempted to move toward a kitchen sink when the officer shot him.
There were five seconds between the officer entering the unit and the shooting happening.
The body-worn video starts with the officer leaving the patrol car. The officer walks up to the nearly closed door and kicks it in before shouting at Jay to show him his hands before shooting him as he stands in the kitchen. Another person walks in the hallway and comes to the officer with their hands up.
"Do you live here?" the officer shouts at the man, who responds no.
"Why are you here?" The officer yells.
"It's my cousin's house," the second man says.
When the officer asks who the man he just shot is, the man replies "That's my brother."
The officer continues to speak with the second man and can be heard saying he can't render aid until the apartment is cleared. More officers come through the door and once the apartment rooms are cleared, the officer turns his attention to Jay, who is bleeding in the kitchen.
The officer pulls Jay towards a pile of toys while asking him questions. Jay can be heard wheezing in the background.
Moments later, as Jay lay motionless on the ground, the officer began searching his pockets while others rendered aid. Upon finding a gun in one of Jay's pockets, the officer can be heard saying "yeah, there we go." Police say a second gun was later found in the kitchen sink.
Since the shooting, investigators have not identified the person who called 911 but say they are a family member of Jay.
Prince George's County Police Chief Malik Aziz claims Jay told the person who called 911 that he was going to be at the home to "take the caller's property" a fact that was not shared in the initial 911 call.
Aziz further added that the 911 caller also did not inform dispatch that the two men he knew, including Jay, were in his apartment when he left approximately 25 minutes before he called 911.
Andrew Clarke, with the A Clarke Law Group, is representing the estate of Melvin Jay in a potential civil claim against Prince George's County.
"Why is it that when police kill someone we automatically blame the deceased," he questioned.
Clarke says he was disgusted by the video.
"We all want to feel safe in our homes," he said. "why are police coming into our homes and firing upon us?"
Clarke says the video shows major issues.
"Prince George's County is well over 90% black and for us to be policed in a way that this officer felt so comfortable to rush in this home with his gun already drawn should be a problem for everyone in Prince George's County," Clarke added.
Ronald Richardson, lead attorney on this case sent WUSA9 the following statement Monday night.
The Murphy Falcon & Murphy law firm has been retained by the family of Melvin Jay. Our team has begun the initial phase of the case investigation and will refrain from providing further comments at this time.
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