Prince George police bodycam video shows fatal shooting of man inside his Suitland apartment
By: Body-camera video shows a Maryland police officer shooting and killing a man inside his apartment last month.
Prince George’s County police Officer Braxton Shelton responded to a breaking-and-entering call at Windham Creek Apartments in Suitland, Feb. 1, police said. He went into an apartment alone and shot and killed 31-year-old Melvin Jay in the kitchen.
The body-camera video starts with Shelton parking and walking toward the unit where the alleged break-in took place. He entered without identifying himself and shouted commands to “show me your hands” before a shot was fired. About 35 seconds passed between the time Shelton got out of his cruiser and the shot was fired.
After the shot, Shelton addresses another man in the apartment, asking him if he lived there and what he was doing there. The man said it was his cousin’s house and Jay was his brother.
More officers arrived and searched the home and provided aid to Jay, but Jay died at the scene.
Officers found a gun in Jay’s pocket and another near the kitchen sink, police said. It’s unclear from the video if Jay had anything in his hands, and police haven’t said who the guns belonged to.
In the 911 call officers responded to, the caller said a neighbor told him someone was breaking into his apartment. The caller did not say Jay might be inside.
The caller, Jay and the person who allegedly broke into the apartment are related, police said.