State police say driver 'confronted' Hopewell authorities but do not say if he shot first
PRINCE GEORGE — Virginia State Police say the driver killed during a police pursuit Wednesday "confronted" authorities with a gun, but did not specify if the driver actually shot at the officers.
The driver, who has not been identified, was shot multiple times and died at the scene, said Virginia State Police Sgt. Jessica Shehan, whose agency is investigating the incident at the request of Hopewell Police, the Hopewell Sheriff's Department and the Richmond field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Hopewell police officers and an ATF agent responded to the scene as back-up for the deputy, Shehan said.
The events unfolded shortly before 12:30 p.m. Wednesday on Oaklawn Boulevard, according to reports. The deputy apparently tried to stop a 2016 Ford Explorer, but the driver refused. A "slow-speed" pursuit went out of Hopewell and onto Temple Avenue. Police and the ATF agent had set up at the intersection of Temple Avenue and River Road in an effort to stop the vehicle.
"The Explorer pulled up nose-to-nose with the police vehicles and the adult male driver confronted the officers with a firearm," Shehan said in an email. "The City of Hopewell Police Officers and an ATF Special Agent, who was present on scene, discharged their weapons."
It was not immediately clear which of the authorities fired the fatal shots.
The driver's body was taken to the state medical examiner's office in Richmond for an autopsy and further examination.
Shehan said her agency is investigating the shooting while Hopewell investigates the pursuit that led up to the shooting. The VSP is routinely asked by local law enforcement to investigate any officer-involved shootings.
It was not known if the officers involved will be placed on any type of administrative leave while the investigation continues, but that tends to be the standard operating procedure.
Hopewell Sheriff Travis Stanley declined to comment on the incident citing the ongoing investigation. A Hopewell Police spokesperson also declined to comment on it.
Shehan said she did not know where the pursuit started, but Hopewell deputies routinely patrol Interstate 295 — which crosses Oaklawn Boulevard — to enforce the speed limit.
Temple Avenue between Oaklawn Boulevard at the Hopewell line and Puddledock Road in Petersburg was closed in both directions for several hours while investigators were at the scene. Traffic on River Road was also detoured.
More from The Progress-Index: Here is how the first racism and discrimination case against Prince George County Schools get dismissed.
More from The Progress-Index: TSA: Petersburg woman had loaded handgun in a carry-on bag at RIC Airport over the weekend
Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist and daily news coach for USA TODAY Network's Atlantic Region which includes Virginia. He is based in Petersburg, Virginia. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Virginia State Police release more details on deadly pursuit
