Traffic delays possible during memorial service for Prince George’s County officer

Prince George’s County police warn that there could be traffic delays Monday and Tuesday as thousands of mourners are expected to gather at memorial events for Adrian Morris, the officer killed during a highway chase last week.

A viewing is scheduled at Borgwardt Funeral Home, 4400 Powder Mill Rd. in Beltsville, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, and a funeral is to begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Woodstream Church, 9800 Lottsford Rd. in Mitchellville. Burial will follow at Lakemont Memorial Gardens in Davidsonville.

Video

This video shows surveillance footage taken Monday at the Shell gas station on Sandy Spring Road in the Laurel area, where Prince George’s County Police officers Adrian Morris and Officer Michael Risher were sent to investigate a report that two men in an Acura had been acting suspiciously and trying to get into customer’s cars. Morris was killed in a crash while chasing those suspects on Interstate-95. Video courtesy of Prince George’s County Police Department.

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Police are planning rolling street closures around the funeral procession, and such closures could last for up to half an hour.

Prince George’s police say members of the law enforcement community across the region and beyond are expected to show up to mourn Morris, the 27th Prince George’s officer killed in the line of duty.

“There will definitely be a high volume of traffic,” said Officer Edward Martin, a police spokesman. “We know there will be officers from across the country coming to pay respects to this officer.”

On Saturday, the Redskins observed a moment of silence for Morris before their preseason victory over the Indianapolis Colts at FedEx Field, about two miles from Prince George’s police headquarters.

Morris, 23, had been a county police officer for 2¹ / ₂ years. He was a former member of the Prince George’s Police Explorers, a program that introduces teens to police work.

Morris grew up in the Laurel area and graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in 2007. He most recently lived in Laurel.

Morris died Aug. 20 after his police cruiser ran off Interstate 95 as he was chasing two men who were suspected of stealing a car.

About noon that day, Morris and Officer Michael Risher went to a Shell gas station on Sandy Spring Road in the Laurel area to investigate a report that two men in an Acura had been trying to get into customers’ cars.

A station manager saw the Acura return, and the officers got into their cruiser, with Morris driving, and tried to catch it.

A chase ensued on Interstate 95, and the police car left the road and flipped several times, killing Morris. Risher was treated at a hospital and released.

The day after the crash, Kenneth Clark Mitchell Jr., 24, of the District was arrested. Two days later, after an intensive search, Kevon Darnell Neal, 23, of Fort Washington turned himself in.

Both were charged with felony theft for allegedly riding in a stolen car during the chase. Authorities say they are considering adding vehicular manslaughter charges.