Image of scene leading up to the Fairfax County Police officer involved fatal hit-and-run pedestrian crash in Hybla Valley as viewed during the release of the body-worn camera footage of the incident during the Oct. 23 press conference.
The Fairfax County Police Department released body-worn camera footage of two critical incidents during its Oct. 23 press conference. Chief Kevin Davis provided statements, and a question-and-answer period followed. Footage was released in accordance with FCPD General Order 402, which requires its release within 30 days of the incident.
Hybla Valley Officer-Involved Fatal Pedestrian Crash
The first incident was the crash in Hybla Valley that occurred on Sept. 23. Police responded at approximately 8:39 p.m. to the intersection of Richmond Highway and Belford Drive. It began as a fatal hit-and-run pedestrian crash where a woman, Trina Jones, 62, of Alexandria was initially struck by a black Mercedes, which fled the scene. A responding Fairfax County police officer’s cruiser then struck Jones while she was still lying in the roadway; Chief Davis confirmed during the press conference that this later contact proved fatal for Jones.
According to Davis, Jones was alive when the police car made contact with her. The officer's speed at the time of contact was between 14 mph and 17 mph. Davis recounted that a civilian driver put their car in front of Jones to shield her from oncoming traffic at the intersection, but then moved their car out of the way when they saw approaching police and fire vehicles. Statements from numerous witnesses indicated that Jones was speaking to them and said that she would wait for the police rather than move out of the road.
The police officer responding to the scene then struck the pedestrian, "who was still in the roadway," according to police statements. The officer's spontaneous comment audible on with the video immediately after his cruiser struck Jones was: "Please don't tell me that I just hit her."
According to FCPD in an Oct. 3 release, Officer Jalin Phillips, a 2-year veteran of the department, was the officer involved in the crash. Officer Phillips is assigned to the Mount Vernon Police District. He is on restricted-duty status while the investigation continues.
Asked: during the press conference, "How badly was Miss Jones injured before, or if she was injured at all before our police car made contact with her?" Davis stated, "I don't know," regarding the severity of her initial injuries. However, he noted that "she wasn't injured to the point where she was incapacitated from interacting or speaking" with the other people at the side of the road. Witnesses told detectives they were "in conversation with her, encouraging her to get out of the roadway." But she indicated she wanted to stay there until the police arrived. Davis emphasized that locating the black Mercedes is "so important" because without it, they cannot estimate the severity of the initial contact or determine if it was minor or serious.
Non-Fatal Officer-Involved Shooting in Burke
The second incident is the non-fatal police shooting incident in Burke on Sept. 28 in the 9700 block of Church Way. FCPD officers from the West Springfield District Station were dispatched at 10:13 p.m. and responded to a call about an intoxicated man in crisis, locked outside his home by his mother. The man was armed with chainsaws, an ax and a blowtorch. “As officers continued negotiating, the man retrieved a gun. He racked the slide, placed the weapon in his waistband, and ignored repeated commands to disarm himself,” states the transcript.”
After 48 minutes of negotiation and continuing to ignore the officers’ commands, an officer deployed less-lethal projectiles. Then, “An officer then discharged their firearm, striking the man in the lower body,” according to the transcript. The man was transported to a hospital and treated for a non-fatal gunshot wound. Officers rendered first aid until fire and rescue arrived.
Davis affirmed the extensive resources and preparedness of the department for such a scenario: “We had the leadership team there, we had the co-responder team there, crisis intervention officer there. We had the clinician there. We had less than lethal options there."
He emphasized that the deployment team was ideal, including ranks of major, lieutenant and sergeant — with the sergeant becoming the primary negotiator; a co-responder team that included a crisis-intervention-trained officer and a clinician; and less-lethal options, such as the bean-sack shotgun.
Davis said the officer who deployed the firearm, which resulted in the non-fatal injury, was not only crisis trained but was one of the crisis intervention team officers who goes to work with a clinician in her car.
Davis explained that due to safety constraints, the co-responder clinician was on the scene but couldn't be used in the immediate contact area.
"One of the questions we always get, would a co-responder team have made a difference in this particular case, if we would have prematurely, or with an abundance of enthusiasm, asked a clinician to put herself in a position to be 40 feet away from someone armed with multiple weapons, I think that wouldn't have been prudent for us to do. We would have put her in harm's way."
Davis concluded the discussion by identifying the underlying issue of the incident: the "mental health crisis" that is "present in our country right now, particularly with adult sons in particular, still living at home with their aging parents." He stressed that despite their best efforts and the right personnel, "every outcome isn't going to be like the one you draw up," because of the decisions the person in crisis makes.
Police circle the gun in the waistband of the man as viewed in the police body-worn camera image of Fairfax County Police non-fatal officer-involved shooting in Burke.