By Jamie Stockwell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 14, 2006; B08

An off-duty Alexandria police officer was acting in self-defense in February when he fired into a sport-utility vehicle outside a pancake house, killing a teenage passenger, and will not face criminal charges, the city's chief prosecutor said yesterday.

In a 54-page report, Commonwealth's Attorney S. Randolph Sengel concluded that Officer Carl Stowe, working security at an International House of Pancakes, acted reasonably when he ran outside the restaurant over an unpaid $26 bill and signaled for the driver to stop. When the Jeep Cherokee suddenly lurched straight toward him, Stowe feared he would be run over and fired six shots, with one striking Aaron Brown, 18, in the back seat, killing him, Sengel said.

"There is no basis to conclude that Stowe acted recklessly or put himself at unnecessary risk in doing so," Sengel said. "His actions were that of a reasonable officer under the circumstances."

Sengel based his conclusion on an exhaustive three-month review in which he re-interviewed witnesses at the IHOP on Duke Street, brought in independent experts, conducted an elevation survey and pored over ballistic and other physical evidence from the Feb. 25 shooting. Police officials will determine whether Stowe followed department procedures and review their policies on firing at moving vehicles.

Brown, an Eagle Scout in his first year at Northern Virginia Community College, was one of six teenagers inside the SUV as it sped from the restaurant about 4 that morning. He had "so much promise," Sengel told reporters outside the Alexandria courthouse yesterday. "This is truly a terrible tragedy."

At a separate news conference, Brown's parents said they met with Sengel late Monday to discuss his findings. In a voice that wavered on tears, the victim's father, Jeff Brown, told reporters that their meeting was "disappointing but not totally unexpected."

"We take exception to his conclusion but need to have access to all the evidence to proceed," Brown said, adding that they will continue to pursue justice for their son, possibly in the form of a lawsuit. The family planned a candlelight vigil last night in the IHOP parking lot.

The Browns appeared with their attorney, Patrick Malone, and took no questions.

"As we understand the reasoning of [Sengel], he believes the event that caused the death of Aaron Brown was a big misunderstanding between Officer Stowe, who thought the Jeep was trying to run him down, and the driver, who was trying to avoid Officer Stowe," Malone said. "We do not and cannot accept that this was just a misunderstanding."

Sengel said that two "starkly different accounts" emerged from the investigation.

The first, supported by later accounts of passengers, was that Stowe shot at the Jeep to prevent it from escaping and that the officer was in no imminent danger, Sengel said.

But a wealth of physical evidence shows that version to be "impossible," Sengel said in the report, which he released to the public. The evidence does, however, match what other witnesses said they saw that morning, original statements from passengers and Stowe's account: that he fired after the Jeep changed course and headed toward him, the prosecutor said.

"Under such circumstances, he, as any citizen would be, was legally entitled to defend himself," Sengel said in the report. "We agree that he was facing a life-or-death situation," he said at the news conference, adding that the three-month investigation was "one of the most difficult cases I've ever had to resolve."

Using a 1995 Jeep Cherokee and photographs of the damage to the SUV and other parked vehicles, a team of officers from Alexandria and Fairfax County reconstructed the accident scene. They determined that the Jeep was driving about 25 mph at the moment of impact, based upon the angles at which the other vehicles were hit, although it could have been going faster. Ballistics tests showed that the Jeep was less than 50 feet from Stowe when he began firing.

The third, and fatal, shot was fired after the SUV had swerved and was no longer bearing down on him. But, the report said, the "forensic evidence of the case and scientific studies of human reaction time establish that Stowe could not reasonably have been expected to have reacted differently and stopped firing before he fired the fatal shot."

Stowe, who has been on administrative leave, has not commented. But Sengel's report offers insight into the reactions and thoughts of the officer, who has 13 years' experience.

As an officer stationed regularly at the pancake house for off-duty shifts, Stowe was accustomed to teenagers ditching their bills. It was the second time it had happened that night. On every occasion, he would signal people to stop in the parking lot, and they usually would, Stowe told detectives.

As he moved toward the Jeep, he said he heard the engine speed up and the tires spin. He threw his right hand into the air, signaling the Jeep to stop, but the driver wouldn't slow down, he said, and so he drew his weapon and fired.

"The front of the vehicle kept turning and coming toward me, and it wasn't slowing down," Stowe said. "It was apparent he was just trying to run me over. He wasn't slowing down. He kept turning in the direction I was moving."

Stowe tried to get away, he said, but bumped up against the trunk of a car. In a one-hand grip, he fired, he said. The entire incident lasted about three seconds, with half the time spent shooting, the report said.

Stephen J. Smith, 19, was behind the wheel. As he drove toward Stowe, the five friends reacted in assorted ways. Several said they covered their heads and braced for a crash. One, Breklyn Paulitzky, described Smith's driving as "swerving all over the place."

Paulitzky, who was seated in the backseat, said she saw Stowe standing before them and shouted, "Oh my God, you are going to kill this cop, stop!"

Later, she told investigators, "I was thinking it, I don't know if I said it out loud."

Smith, who Sengel said will not be charged in the shooting incident, was charged with marijuana possession and underage possession of alcohol. He pleaded guilty Monday and was sentenced to six months' probation and 75 hours of community service. Smith left the IHOP first and was inside the Jeep warming it up, he told police. His friends hopped in and told him to "go, go, go" because the bill hadn't been paid. He gunned the engine and sped away, he said.

When asked why he thought Stowe fired the shots, Smith told police, "If he heard the engine or saw how fast I was coming . . . he might have thought his life was threatened."

In a later interview, Smith said he swerved to avoid the shots. He tried to go around the officer, he said, but Stowe moved in front of the SUV no matter which way it turned, as if the two "were doing a dance."

Other witnesses in the parking lot contradicted Smith's version, as did the physical evidence, the report said.

Andrew J. Kersey, Smith's attorney, said, "Obviously, my client's account certainly disagrees with several aspects of the commonwealth attorney's conclusions, the big one being where the first shots were fired."

"They definitely have differing versions," Kersey said of the stories told by the teenagers and the officer. "To be fair, this thing happened quickly. It seems like a situation no one had been in before. It's sort of a shocking event, and perceptions can be different."

The shooting, the first this year by an Alexandria officer, sparked outrage and questions over whether the department should revise its policy on firing at vehicles. Officers are allowed to shoot at a moving vehicle if they believe their lives are in danger and no bystanders are at risk -- but only if they have exhausted all other means of defense, including moving out of the vehicle's path.

The policy is similar to those in most Washington area police departments. But some big-city departments, including the District's, restrict the practice because of the risk to bystanders.

Through a spokesman, Police Chief Charles E. Samarra declined to comment on the report or on the department's policy until the internal review has been completed.

Releasing such an exhaustive report of a police investigation is rare. Sengel said he did so because "I think it's important that the public have the best opportunity to understand the basis for why these decisions are made."

Staff writer Tom Jackman contributed to this report.