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Fairfax County police released body-camera footage Oct. 23 showing two critical incidents: a police cruiser fatally striking a woman already lying on a Hybla Valley roadway and an officer shooting and wounding an armed man during a prolonged crisis in Burke.
Chief Kevin Davis answered questions about both September incidents. The videos were released under a department policy requiring footage from critical incidents to be made public within 30 days.
Police Cruiser Fatally Strikes Woman After Hit-and-Run
The first incident began around 8:39 p.m. Sept. 23 at Richmond Highway and Belford Drive.
Police said a black Mercedes initially struck Trina Jones, 62, of Alexandria, and fled. Jones remained in the road after that collision and was later hit by a responding Fairfax County police cruiser.
Davis confirmed that Jones was alive before the cruiser struck her and that the second impact proved fatal. The police vehicle was traveling between 14 and 17 mph at the time.
A civilian driver initially positioned a vehicle in front of Jones to shield her from traffic, Davis said. The driver moved the vehicle after seeing police and fire units approaching.
Witnesses told detectives that Jones was able to speak with people who encouraged her to leave the roadway. She reportedly said she would remain there until police arrived.
The officer’s body-camera video captured his immediate reaction after the cruiser hit Jones: “Please don’t tell me that I just hit her.”
Police identified the driver as Officer Jalin Phillips, a two-year department veteran assigned to the Mount Vernon Police District. Phillips remained on restricted duty while the investigation continued.
Davis said investigators did not yet know how seriously Jones had been hurt by the Mercedes. Although she was still communicating after the first collision, police could not determine whether that impact caused minor or severe injuries.
Finding the black Mercedes was therefore critical, Davis said, both to reconstruct the initial crash and to assess Jones’ condition before the police cruiser arrived.
Armed Man Wounded After 48-Minute Burke Negotiation
The second video showed a nonfatal police shooting Sept. 28 in the 9700 block of Church Way in Burke.
Officers from the West Springfield District Station were dispatched at 10:13 p.m. after receiving a report of an intoxicated man in crisis who had been locked outside his home by his mother. Police said he had chainsaws, an ax and a blowtorch.
During negotiations, the man retrieved a gun, racked its slide and placed it in his waistband while ignoring repeated orders to disarm, according to police.
After 48 minutes, an officer fired less-lethal projectiles. Another officer then shot the man in the lower body.
Officers provided first aid until fire and rescue personnel arrived. The man was taken to a hospital and treated for a nonfatal gunshot wound.
Davis said the response included senior supervisors, a crisis-intervention officer, a clinician and less-lethal equipment, including a beanbag shotgun. A sergeant served as the primary negotiator.
The officer who fired the gun was crisis-intervention trained and normally worked alongside a clinician as part of a co-responder team, Davis said.
Although the clinician was present, police did not send her into the immediate contact area because the armed man was about 40 feet away and had access to multiple weapons. Davis said moving the clinician closer would have placed her in danger.
He described the encounter as part of a broader mental-health crisis and said that even when police bring trained personnel and specialized resources, the actions of a person in crisis can prevent the outcome officers had sought.