Officer Shoots Driver During B-W Parkway Stop

A U.S. Park Police officer shot and seriously wounded a man during a traffic stop on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway yesterday, police said.

The incident began just after 1 p.m. when the officer attempted to stop the driver of a Buick sedan traveling north on the parkway near the Riverdale Road exit, said Sgt. Robert Lachancea Park Police spokesman.

The Buick's driver, who police described only as a 30-year-old District man, refused to stop and continued driving for about a mile before coming to a halt on the grassy median between the northbound and southbound lanes, Lachance said.

Details of what followed remained unclear yesterday evening. Police at the scene initially said the Buick's driver left his vehicle and began running from the officer. The officer then fired at the man at least once, hitting him in the upper body, police said.

Lachance, however, said it was unclear whether the driver tried to escape on foot. He said it was also unclear what prompted the officer to fire or whether the officer believed the man was armed, and he declined to say whether any weapons were found in the Buick.

The wounded man was taken by a park police helicopter to an area hospital, where he was being treated yesterday for injuries that were not considered life-threatening, Lachance said.

Traffic was backed up for miles in Prince George's County after police closed a two-mile stretch of the northbound parkway for more than two hours. Dozens of investigators swarmed the area, searching for evidence and marking the road near where the officer's vehicle stopped.

Lachance declined to release the officer's name or more details about the Buick's driver, saying only that the incident remains under investigation.