Bowie Officer Indicted For Shooting At Vehicle: State's Attorney

UPPER MARLBORO, MD — A Bowie City police officer has been indicted for misconduct in office after he fired his gun at a fleeing vehicle, according to Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy.

Braveboy said in a statement Thursday that the officer, Lt. Ernest Stanley, made a traffic stop on Aug. 8, 2018, on a vehicle with two people inside.

"The driver accelerated and fled the scene," the statement reads. "At that time, Lt. Stanley fired three rounds of his service-issued firearm, striking the vehicle once."

She said that neither person in the vehicle posed an imminent threat to the officer or to the community, and that therefore the shooting should not have happened.

"Police officers are sworn to operate with the highest degree of professionalism and integrity and to protect the public,” she said in the statement. “By firing his weapon at a fleeing vehicle when there was no imminent threat, we believe this officer put the occupants of the vehicle and members of the community in danger.”

The Washington Post reported that Bowie Police Chief John Nesky said at the time of the incident that there was a physical altercation, after which the officer fired his gun. Nesky reportedly also said that the 10-year veteran received a minor injury during the incident.

No one in the vehicle was injured.