Bowie police officer charged with attempted murder

A grand jury indicted a Bowie, Maryland, police officer on a charge of attempted murder for firing his gun at a man on a busy road last month.

About 8 a.m. Sept. 12, Sgt. Robert Warrington stopped on Collington Road near Route 50 to check on a white SUV parked on the side of the road.

A man who asked to remain unidentified told News4 he was trying to retrieve his hat that had blown away while his girlfriend and children remained in the SUV.

As the man walked past Warrington on his way back to the SUV, he appeared to have one hand over his stomach with the other hand holding a white cloth or T-shirt that appeared to have blood on it.

“Are you here to help her?” Warrington asked.

“Nah, she’s taking me to the hospital,” the man replied.

Moments later, Warrington fired a shot.

“He had a gun. He had a gun,” he said.

“I don’t have a gun,” the man said.

A woman screamed, “What did you do? What did you do? What did you do? Why did you do that? Why did you that?”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Warrington said.

The gunshot hit a passing minivan. Luckily, no one was injured.

“As soon as my ears stopped ringing, I turned around and asked the officer why did he shoot me,” he said.

He said he instinctively pulled out his phone to try to capture the shocking encounter.

“The video that was provided by the Bowie City Police Department, it speaks for itself,” Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said. “The actions were not in line with the training or the orders of the Bowie City Police Department.”

Bowie Police Chief Dwayne Preston issued a statement that reads, in part, “I support the grand jury’s independent objective process. Sgt. Warrington will be suspended without pay.”

Warrington is a 12-year veteran of the Bowie Police Department. He faces charges including attempted second-degree murder and reckless endangerment.

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