Prosecutors decline to file charges against DC police officer who shot and killed man

At one of the city’s busiest intersections, near North Capitol Street and New York Avenue, police officer Claude Jackson eventually shot and killed Clifford Brooks, 41, according to prosecutors. The heated exchange, captured on bodycam footage, occurred after Brooks attacked a firefighter in an ambulance, jumped out and ran through traffic, and did not respond to attempts to subdue him with pepper spray, according to prosecutors. Jackson fired after Brooks hid under a truck and then resurfaced with a metal object in his hand, prosecutors said.

He first told Brooks three times to “drop it” while Brooks charged at Jackson with the object in his hand, prosecutors said.

Brooks’ sister, Denise Jefferson, said her brother was depressed at the time of the shooting. He had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, she said, and was grieving the deaths of his grandfather and aunt, who died within 10 days of each other in January.

In an interview Thursday, Jefferson said she had not heard from prosecutors about their decision. “I’m just stunned,” she said, declining to comment further.

Prosecutors said Jackson was initially called to a 7-Eleven convenience store in northeast Washington around 6:45 a.m. to help Brooks.

According to prosecutors, Jackson, who was trained in crisis intervention, stayed with Brooks in the store for about an hour before he ran out the back of the store. After finding Brooks in a shed behind a nearby house, Jackson and the other officers called an ambulance to take Brooks to a hospital for evaluation.

As the ambulance headed toward the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in northwest Washington, Jackson and other officers followed the vehicle.

According to the prosecution’s account, Brooks, who was not handcuffed, began attacking a firefighter who was sitting with him in the back of the ambulance. When the ambulance stopped, Brooks pushed the firefighter out of the ambulance and jumped out of the vehicle. Jackson approached Brooks, took out his Oleoresin Capsicum, or OC, spray and sprayed it on Brooks. Brooks continued running into oncoming traffic on North Capitol Street.

While Jackson and other officers pursued Brooks on foot, prosecutors said Brooks bent down and picked up a metal object from the ground. Prosecutors said an autopsy found Brooks had been shot four times, including a fatal shot to the chest.

It remained unclear Thursday whether Brooks was voluntarily taken to the hospital. If he was, police would not have detained him in the ambulance. If he had not consented to treatment, DC police protocol would have required him to be detained and accompanied by an officer in the ambulance.

DC Police spokesman Paris Lewbel said Thursday that an internal investigation into the handcuffing protocol was ongoing.

At the time of the shooting, Brooks’ family said he had been serving in the Army, stationed at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, and had returned home troubled. He had told relatives that close friends had died and that he had encountered a soldier who had hanged himself. A U.S. Army spokesman said Brooks was a signal support systems specialist from 2003 to 2006 and left the service with the rank of private. His awards included the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.

Peter Hermann and Monika Mathur contributed to this report.