SUITLAND, Md. — A Prince George's County Police officer won't be charged for gunning down an armed man inside his own apartment in March.
The Maryland Attorney General's Office released a report justifying officer Braxton Shelton's actions.
It all started when someone called 911 reporting his apartment being broken into.
At the time the caller was not home, but his roommate Melvin Jay was.
The caller reportedly got into an earlier argument with an unidentified associate who threatened to visit the apartment and steal the caller's belongings.
Soon after Jay notified the caller about the associate showing up and taking things from the apartment.
That's when 911 was called.
Shelton already happened to be at the complex handling another call, enabling him to arrive on scene within 22 seconds.
Upon approach, Shelton noticed the front door open so he entered.
Inside Shelton saw Jay, who he thought was the burglar.
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Shelton ordered Jay to show his hands four times, only to be ignored.
Instead Jay went to the kitchen sink where Shelton recalled hearing a “ding” sound like “metal on metal,” which he believed was “some kind of firearm, something metal, hitting the sink.”
Within seconds Jay rapidly turned, prompting Shelton to fatally shoot him in the head.
Inside Jay's jacket, Shelton recovered a loaded handgun with a spent shell casing still lodged inside.
A second loaded gun was discovered in the sink where Shelton heard the "ding" sound. That gun turned out to be stolen.
The Attorney General's Office partly blamed the incident on the 911 caller who they say provided dispatchers with "inaccurate information."
"Because of that information, officer Shelton’s perception was different from what was actually occurring in the apartment at the time he entered," investigators wrote.
They also backed Shelton's response in handling the situation.
"There is no evidence in this investigation that officer Shelton intended to use force that exceeded that which was necessary and proportional to prevent Mr. Jay from being a danger to Officer Shelton or to accomplish a legitimate law enforcement objective," the Attorney General's Office concluded.
There's no word if the actual burglar was ever identified and/or charged.
It's also unclear why Jay had two handguns, or why a round appeared to have been fired.
To read the full report, click here.
