Officers from Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties fatally shot a man who they say stole a police cruiser from an officer he threatened to shoot and later led police on a chase in another vehicle.
Monpeet Chona, 26, of Baltimore, died at Shock Trauma, authorities said Tuesday.
Early Tuesday, the driver of a car that was operating without its headlights on refused to stop for two Baltimore County officers about 10 minutes apart. In this case, the risk of a pursuit outweighed the severity of the infraction, police said. The car later crashed at the Baltimore Beltway exit to Interstate 95.
When a Baltimore County officer stopped at the accident scene, the driver began to fight with the male officer, saying he had a gun and would shoot the officer, police said. The man fled in the officer's cruiser, although police said they don't have details on how he stole it.
Police tracked the cruiser to a south Baltimore motel, where they stopped a Ford Bronco speeding out of the motel parking lot. While officers removed three people from the SUV, one passenger jumped into the driver's seat and drove off. Police believe that man was the same person who earlier fought with the officer.
About two miles away, police stopped the SUV at a city shopping center, where authorities said three Baltimore County officers and one Anne Arundel County officer fired several shots, striking the man.
Police did not say what prompted the officers to fire their weapons. All four officers have been placed on routine administrative leave.
Investigators recovered a hammer, but no gun, according to Baltimore city police, who are leading a probe into the shooting in their jurisdiction.
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