MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — GRAPHIC WARNING: This story and the video attached discuss/show the moments before a man was fatally shot by an officer.
WUSA9 has obtained video footage of a Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputy shooting and killing a man who had been attacking him with a piece of wood. The roughly 25-second video, taken by a witness inside his car, shows what happened leading up to the fatal shooting.
The video has been edited to remove sound, blur the deceased man's face and is stopped right before the sheriff shoots. It shows the sheriff’s deputy backing away from a man with his gun pulled as the man continues to swing a piece of wood at him. The original video audio did not provide context as to the conversation between the officer and the man shot; only the witness filming could be heard.
The sheriff’s department said in its statement after the shooting that its deputy first tried to deploy his Taser, but that is not shown in this video. Due to the shortness of the video, this does not mean that a Taser was not at some point deployed.
The man, identified as 52-year-old Kevin Costlow, of Laytonsville, struck the deputy with a large piece of wood in the area of Olney Laytonsville Road and Fieldcrest Road in Montgomery County, authorities said in a joint press conference Saturday.
The incident happened around 8 a.m. Saturday. Montgomery County police received several 911 calls Saturday morning that a man in a Volkswagen sedan was driving erratically in the 6000 block of Maryland Route 108 between Riggs Road and Fieldcrest Road. Police Chief Marcus Jones said two cars were struck by the driver before the deputy arrived on the scene.
When the deputy arrived, he saw Costlow approaching two people with a large wooden stick, according to Sheriff Darren Popkin. The deputy was the first law enforcement officer to arrive at the scene. When the deputy intervened, the deputy and Costlow began fighting and he struck the deputy with a long piece of wood around the head and neck.
The deputy attempted to deploy his Taser, according to Popkin. When he wasn't successful, the deputy shot Costlow, the sheriff said.
During the encounter, the deputy called for backup, police said. Officers and Fire and Rescue personnel that were on their way to the incident arrived and attempted life-saving measures on Costlow.
Costlow was pronounced dead at the scene, and the deputy was taken to a local hospital for treatment. He's expected to be OK. Sheriff Popkin said he's expected to be released from the hospital Saturday.
The sheriff's deputy has not yet been identified by the sheriff's office. It's not clear yet what was causing the man to act erratically.
Montgomery County Police are handling the investigation. Sheriff Popkin said the deputy was wearing a body camera, but did not say whether it was recording at the time of the incident.
The deputy will be placed on administrative leave once he's released from the hospital while the investigation continues.
This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information who has not already spoken to investigators is asked to contact the Montgomery County Police - Major Crimes Division at 240-773-5070. Callers may remain anonymous.