Germantown Man Shot, Killed by Officer Had Run-In in 2007

The Germantown man killed this week by a Montgomery County police officer had had a run-in with officers in 2007, when, armed with a knife, he told them to "shoot me," according to a police report.

Eliodoro "Elio" Hernandez was "extremely intoxicated" the night of Feb. 16, 2007, inside his Germantown condominium, when Montgomery police Sgt. Kevin Burns arrived, the report states. Their brief standoff ended when Burns knocked the knife from Hernandez's hand with his flashlight and tackled him. Hernandez appeared to be having mental problems, and officers took him to a hospital for emergency evaluation, according to the report.

"He was acting crazy. He was talking about killing himself. He didn't want to live any more," said Juanita Roseboro, who lived with Hernandez in the condominium at the time. She wasn't there when police came in 2007, but talked to them afterward, she said.

On Wednesday, according to police accounts, witnesses heard Officer Jesse Dickensheets twice tell Hernandez to drop a handgun during a confrontation about 3 a.m. at a condominium complex in the 12200 block of Eagle's Nest Court in Germantown. Police have released few details of the exchange between Hernandez and Dickensheets. Police said Dickensheets fired twice, fatally wounding Hernandez.

Officers found a pistol and knife next to Hernandez's body. The pistol turned out to be a BB/pellet gun made to looking like a semiautomatic pistol. The knife had an 8- to 10-inch blade, police said.

Roseboro said she and Hernandez have a 7-year-old son and were a longtime couple. She said Hernandez, who worked as a landscaper, hadn't been living with her for the past two months, telling her he was staying in a friend's basement. Police said Hernandez was living at the condominium complex in Germantown where he was shot Wednesday.

Roseboro, 47, a nurse at an assisted living center in Rockville, said Hernandez had many good qualities. "He's been a good father," she said. "His son loves him dearly. He loved to help people. He loved to fish and play pool, and he was a very good-hearted person, always."

In the past, Roseboro said, Hernandez's behavior remained under control when he drank beer, but not when he drank liquor.

Roseboro said detectives told her they found rum inside the condominium where Hernandez was staying.

Roseboro said she wants to know more specifics about Hernandez's shooting, including whether he was pointing the pistol at the officers and what he said to them. "Those are questions I would like to ask them at some point," she said.

The incident and the one in 2007 were similar in how they began.

About 2:40 a.m. Wednesday, dispatchers received a call that was disconnected. They tried calling back but couldn't get an answer, police said. Officers were sent to the condominium to see whether anything was wrong.

In the 2007 incident, officers also went to check after a disconnected 911 call, according to the incident report. Burns, the police sergeant, arrived to find the door of a ground-floor unit ajar. He "announced his presence and opened the door and observed a subject who was later identified as Hernandez standing about ten feet inside the residence holding a knife," according to the report.

At some point, Hernandez walked toward Burns and another officer, getting within five feet, according to the report. He held the knife near his chest in the air, but never threatened the officers with it. He said he wanted to die, according to the report.

Hernandez lowered the knife to his waist, with the tip pointing down, the report states. Burns stepped into the apartment and knocked the knife out of Hernandez's hand. A postal inspector who lived in the same building helped take Hernandez into custody.

At first, Hernandez resisted being handcuffed. He then began apologizing, according to the report.