guru2000
Registered
Teen Kil
led After Apparent Dine And Ditch
Parents Speak Out About Fatal Shooting
POSTED: 6:20 am EST February 27, 2006UPDATED: 6:25 am EST February 28, 2006
http://www.nbc4.com/newsarchive/7497311/detail.html
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The parents of a man who was shot and killed by an off-duty Alexandria police officer early Saturday morning said their only child will be missed, but not forgotten.
Aaron Brown, 18, of Springfield, was killed by an officer working as a security guard at an IHOP restaurant on Duke Street. The officer has been identified as 13-year veteran Carl Stowe.
Police said that an employee told Stowe at about 3:40 a.m. that a group of six customers had left without paying. Spokeswoman Amy
Bertsch s
aid Stowe attempted to stop the customers from fleeing in a Jeep Grand Cherokee and that he fired at the vehicle when it traveled toward him.
Brown, a back-seat passenger, was hit by a bullet and died at the scene. Three other people in the Jeep were not hurt.
Brown's parents said police told them the officer fired four to five shots at the Jeep.
News4 has learned that one of the teenagers allegedly inside the Jeep wrote about the incident on a Web site.
"Aaron Robert Brown was taken from us because of an incident involving an off-duty cop and an attempt to dine and ditch ..." the teen wrote. "I sat in the passenger seat of the Jeep watching him die, knowing that I could do nothing about it. ... He didn't deserve to die. No one does over a $26 food bill."
While the FBI investigates the shooting, Brown's parents said the incident could have been avoided.
"It should not have
happened," said Brown's mother, Cherie. "It was senseless and completely out of contr
ol. It just happened so fast that those kids were just, you know, it was a situation they didn't know how to handle. And suddenly it just was out of control. And in an instant, they killed my son."
Brown was an Eagle Scout and a talented musician who loved to play guitar. The Annandale High School graduate was attending Northern Virginia Community College. His parents said he probably would have become a music teacher.
"He loved it," Jeff Brown said. "And there was nothing more wonderful than to watch him and listen to him play."
Aaron was the Browns' only child.
"He was the light of my life, the apple of my eye," Cherie Brown said. "And he'll always be in our hearts."
Stephen Smith, 19, of Alexandria, who was driving the vehicle, has been charged with driving while intoxicated and possession of m
arijuana.
Stowe has been placed on administrative leave.
Fatal Shooting In Alexandria Fuels Debate On Police Policy
<H2></H2>
By <span style="color:#0c4790">Jamie Stockwell and Carol Morellohttp://projects.washingtonpost.com /staff/email/Jamie+Stockwell+and+Carol+Morello/Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, February 28, 2006; Page A01
The Alexandria police officer who fatally shot a teenage passenger in a sport-utility vehicle over the weekend was identified yesterday as Carl Stowe, a 13-year member of the force, and the shooting has reignited a debate over using deadly force on approaching cars.
Alexandria police officers are allowed to shoot at a moving vehicle if they feel their lives are in danger and no bystanders are at risk -- but only if they have exhausted all other means of defense, including moving from
the vehicle's path, according to the department's use-of-force policy.
Whether Stowe, who fatally shot 18-year-old Aaron Brown as he rode in the back seat of a Jeep Cherokee, followed that policy is the subject of criminal and internal police investigations, authorities said yesterday.
"We will look at all the facts and all
the witness accounts before pursuing any other charges in this case," said Amy Bertsch, a police spokeswoman, who added that Alexandria Commonwealth's Attorney S. Randolph Sengel will make the final decision about whether charges are warranted against anyone, including the officer, involved in the incident.
Stowe was working off duty, providing security at an International House of Pancakes when he fired the shots. According to police, after he was told that four teenagers had skipped out of the restaurant without paying their bill, Stowe tried to stop the SUV in which they were riding and fired on it as it allegedly bore down o
n him. Police would not say how many shots were fired.
"We are looking at the incident from a criminal standpoint, including what happened, whether any crimes were committed and, if so, what they were and by whom," Bertsch said. "The other investigation is internal, and that addresses the officer's actions and whether they were within policy."
In an account aired last nig
ht by WRC (Channel 4), the station quoted someone described as a passenger in the SUV as saying that as many as five shots were fired.
"As we round the corner, the cop runs in front of us and starts to fire rounds at the Jeep," the reported passenger was quoted as writing on a Web site. "Four rounds go by and [the driver] swerved to avoid the bullet and loses control of his Jeep, and the cop continues to fire his gun."
The purported witness was not identified.
Stephen J. Smith, 19, the driver of the SUV, has been charged with driving while intox
icated and possession of marijuana. He was released on $1,500 bond Saturday afternoon and is scheduled to appear Friday in Alexandria District Court.
According to court documents, Smith, 19, failed three of five field sobriety tests after the incident and registered a blood alcohol level of 0.02 more than two hours after the 3:40 a.m. shooting. Virginia law allows officers to charge anyone younger than 21 -- the state's legal drinking age -- with dr
unken driving if even a trace amount of alcohol is found.
Alexandria's policy on shooting at a moving vehicle is similar to most Washington area jurisdictions. But some big-city police departments, including the District's, restrict the practice because of the risk to bystanders. Many public safety experts agree that policies allowing officers to shoot at moving cars are risky and antiquated.
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/27/AR2006022701515_2.html" target="_blank">http://www.w
ashingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...22701515_2.html</a>
led After Apparent Dine And Ditch
Parents Speak Out About Fatal Shooting
POSTED: 6:20 am EST February 27, 2006UPDATED: 6:25 am EST February 28, 2006
http://www.nbc4.com/newsarchive/7497311/detail.html
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The parents of a man who was shot and killed by an off-duty Alexandria police officer early Saturday morning said their only child will be missed, but not forgotten.
Aaron Brown, 18, of Springfield, was killed by an officer working as a security guard at an IHOP restaurant on Duke Street. The officer has been identified as 13-year veteran Carl Stowe.
Police said that an employee told Stowe at about 3:40 a.m. that a group of six customers had left without paying. Spokeswoman Amy
Bertsch s
aid Stowe attempted to stop the customers from fleeing in a Jeep Grand Cherokee and that he fired at the vehicle when it traveled toward him.
Brown, a back-seat passenger, was hit by a bullet and died at the scene. Three other people in the Jeep were not hurt.
Brown's parents said police told them the officer fired four to five shots at the Jeep.
News4 has learned that one of the teenagers allegedly inside the Jeep wrote about the incident on a Web site.
"Aaron Robert Brown was taken from us because of an incident involving an off-duty cop and an attempt to dine and ditch ..." the teen wrote. "I sat in the passenger seat of the Jeep watching him die, knowing that I could do nothing about it. ... He didn't deserve to die. No one does over a $26 food bill."
While the FBI investigates the shooting, Brown's parents said the incident could have been avoided.
"It should not have
happened," said Brown's mother, Cherie. "It was senseless and completely out of contr
ol. It just happened so fast that those kids were just, you know, it was a situation they didn't know how to handle. And suddenly it just was out of control. And in an instant, they killed my son."
Brown was an Eagle Scout and a talented musician who loved to play guitar. The Annandale High School graduate was attending Northern Virginia Community College. His parents said he probably would have become a music teacher.
"He loved it," Jeff Brown said. "And there was nothing more wonderful than to watch him and listen to him play."
Aaron was the Browns' only child.
"He was the light of my life, the apple of my eye," Cherie Brown said. "And he'll always be in our hearts."
Stephen Smith, 19, of Alexandria, who was driving the vehicle, has been charged with driving while intoxicated and possession of m
arijuana.
Stowe has been placed on administrative leave.
Fatal Shooting In Alexandria Fuels Debate On Police Policy
<H2></H2>
By <span style="color:#0c4790">Jamie Stockwell and Carol Morellohttp://projects.washingtonpost.com /staff/email/Jamie+Stockwell+and+Carol+Morello/Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, February 28, 2006; Page A01
The Alexandria police officer who fatally shot a teenage passenger in a sport-utility vehicle over the weekend was identified yesterday as Carl Stowe, a 13-year member of the force, and the shooting has reignited a debate over using deadly force on approaching cars.
Alexandria police officers are allowed to shoot at a moving vehicle if they feel their lives are in danger and no bystanders are at risk -- but only if they have exhausted all other means of defense, including moving from
the vehicle's path, according to the department's use-of-force policy.
Whether Stowe, who fatally shot 18-year-old Aaron Brown as he rode in the back seat of a Jeep Cherokee, followed that policy is the subject of criminal and internal police investigations, authorities said yesterday.
"We will look at all the facts and all
the witness accounts before pursuing any other charges in this case," said Amy Bertsch, a police spokeswoman, who added that Alexandria Commonwealth's Attorney S. Randolph Sengel will make the final decision about whether charges are warranted against anyone, including the officer, involved in the incident.
Stowe was working off duty, providing security at an International House of Pancakes when he fired the shots. According to police, after he was told that four teenagers had skipped out of the restaurant without paying their bill, Stowe tried to stop the SUV in which they were riding and fired on it as it allegedly bore down o
n him. Police would not say how many shots were fired.
"We are looking at the incident from a criminal standpoint, including what happened, whether any crimes were committed and, if so, what they were and by whom," Bertsch said. "The other investigation is internal, and that addresses the officer's actions and whether they were within policy."
In an account aired last nig
ht by WRC (Channel 4), the station quoted someone described as a passenger in the SUV as saying that as many as five shots were fired.
"As we round the corner, the cop runs in front of us and starts to fire rounds at the Jeep," the reported passenger was quoted as writing on a Web site. "Four rounds go by and [the driver] swerved to avoid the bullet and loses control of his Jeep, and the cop continues to fire his gun."
The purported witness was not identified.
Stephen J. Smith, 19, the driver of the SUV, has been charged with driving while intox
icated and possession of marijuana. He was released on $1,500 bond Saturday afternoon and is scheduled to appear Friday in Alexandria District Court.
According to court documents, Smith, 19, failed three of five field sobriety tests after the incident and registered a blood alcohol level of 0.02 more than two hours after the 3:40 a.m. shooting. Virginia law allows officers to charge anyone younger than 21 -- the state's legal drinking age -- with dr
unken driving if even a trace amount of alcohol is found.
Alexandria's policy on shooting at a moving vehicle is similar to most Washington area jurisdictions. But some big-city police departments, including the District's, restrict the practice because of the risk to bystanders. Many public safety experts agree that policies allowing officers to shoot at moving cars are risky and antiquated.
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/27/AR2006022701515_2.html" target="_blank">http://www.w
ashingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...22701515_2.html</a>
