A Maryland police officer who fatally shot a man carrying a large grill fork fired six rounds as the man started to cross in front of the officer and head toward a group of neighbors he’d been in a fight with, according to video and audio recordings released Monday.
Video from the officer’s body camera captured about 35 seconds of interaction between Montgomery County police officer Cody Hobbs and Melvin Chavez, the man he shot along a dark road and driveway in the Wheaton-Glenmont area on the night of Sept. 21.
Hobbs appears to have believed that Chavez was armed with a knife, according to the video, as he yelled, “Drop the knife!” nine times. The object in Chavez’s hand is difficult to see in the video, and part of the time, it was hidden by Chavez’s arm.
Two agencies released recordings of the encounter. One was from the Maryland attorney general’s office, which is responsible for investigating police-involved fatal shootings in the state. The attorney general’s office continues to investigate the shooting and has not reached any conclusions.
The second agency to release video, the Montgomery County Police Department, did so as part a “critical incident community briefing.” It includes a recording of the 911 call for an assault that brought Hobbs to the scene.
A 12-year veteran of the force, he was the first officer to arrive, according to the video. He parked, got out and spotted Chavez some distance away on a lawn. Hobbs shined his flashlight at Chavez as neighbors could be heard in the background yelling that he had a weapon. Hobbs began shouting at Chavez to “drop the knife” as he pulled out his gun and pointed it at him.
Chavez began walking toward the officer, who backed up as he yelled commands. At some point, Chavez quit looking at the officer and appeared to turn his gaze to people in the yard in front of him. As Hobbs continued to back up, he fired six rounds at Chavez, who fell to the ground.
It is not exactly clear how close Hobbs and the neighbors were to Chavez when the shots were fired. In the police department’s community briefing, officials highlighted video from a camera mounted on another officer’s car, which showed at least one of the neighbors still in the middle of the yard.
Chavez’s family has questioned the officer’s decision to shoot, saying Hobbs acted too quickly.
“The video clearly shows that the way he was killed was not right,” Chavez’s aunt, Dunia Chavez, said via text message Monday night. “I felt shocked when I saw the way they took his life.”
She and other family members have acknowledged that Chavez was intoxicated on the night of the shooting. They said it would have helped to have a responding officer who could issue commands in Spanish. Dunia Chavez said the family would seek justice in the case.
Lee Holland, president of the county’s police union, FOP Lodge 35, has said that given the situation Hobbs was presented with, the deadly force used by him appears to be within the law and department policy.
Holland said that he saw the video for the first time Monday and that it shows how Hobbs had to make split-second decisions. Holland declined to speak in more detail about the video, citing the ongoing investigation.
“There are a lot of different factors that go into a shooting other than what is seen on a video,” Holland said, adding that “this is why it’s important to have complete and thorough investigations.”
“I have confidence that Officer Hobbs made the decision to use deadly force by referring to his training, years of police experience and departmental policy,” Holland said.
