A handcuffed man was shot and killed while sitting in a police cruiser in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Prince George’s County police claim officers pulled William Green over around 8 p.m. on Monday night after they received calls about an erratic driver who struck several other vehicles, as reported by FOX 5 DC. Green was taken into custody after officers allegedly smelled PCP and suspected he was under the influence.
He was cuffed, placed in the front passenger seat of the police cruiser, where he sat handcuffed and buckled in the seatbelt while officers waited for the drug recognition team to show up. Placing people in the front seat is standard practice for the department. When an officer got into the driver’s seat a struggle ensued, according to The Associated Press.
Moments later, several shots were heard from the cruiser. Green was shot by the officer’s weapon multiple times, according to local reports. Officers rendered emergency aid and Green was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Green’s family doesn’t understand how a traffic stop ended with the death of their loved one.
“I can’t understand why you had him in the car seat, seatbelt down, handcuffed and then gone shoot him,” said Brenda Green, his mother. “For what reason? What could he possibly do?”
The police said the officer who shot Green was not wearing a body camera so they are going to survey surveillance cameras in the area.
“We are at the very beginning of what is going to be a very complex investigation to exactly what happened inside of that cruiser,” said police spokeswoman Christina Cotterman. “That is the crux of what we’re going to be looking at.”
The officer has not been publicly identified and is currently on administrative leave. PG County Police said they will probably release the officer’s name on Tuesday.
This is a developing story.
