Fairfax County Police have released body camera footage of a “dramatic scene” that occurred two weeks after a man was shot and killed by two police officers. The incident took place in Fairfax County after an officer was reportedly “violently attacked” inside his own police car. According to Chief Kevin Davis, the footage is quite revealing.
The names of the two FCPD officers who discharged their firearms, Officer Christopher Grubb and Officer Kenyatta Momon, have also been disclosed.
On Thursday, May 11, a fatal altercation took place in the Alexandria portion of Fairfax County, specifically in the 6300 block of Richmond Highway.
As per Davis, a law enforcement officer detected a U-Haul that had been reported stolen from Richmond, Virginia, after the vehicle passed through a license plate reader. A stolen U-Haul was driven by an unidentified man who eventually pulled into a gas station parking lot and proceeded to walk away from the vehicle.
An unidentified officer stepped out of his cruiser and approached a man while standing in front of the open driver-side door of his police car. The man has been identified by the police as 38-year-old Brandon Lemagne.
According to the police department, the officer informed Lemange that he would be detained for driving the stolen U-Haul. According to Davis, Lemagne initiated a violent attack on the officer.
An officer successfully issued a distress call via his police radio, reporting that the perpetrator had disarmed him.
During the attack, the police vehicle suddenly shifted into reverse and careened out of control from the parking lot onto a nearby street. The vehicle continued its reckless backward trajectory until it crashed into a parked car in the McDonald’s parking lot. All the while, the attack persisted within the confines of the vehicle.
The entire incident between the assaulted officer and the two responding officers was captured on body camera footage from three different angles.
According to Davis, the events are unfolding rapidly, with great force and in a simultaneous manner.
According to sources, Lemagne was approached by an officer who informed him that the vehicle in question had been reported stolen. Lemagne inquires about the stolen items. The individual in question reportedly asked, “What did I do?” before swiftly attempting to grab hold of the officer’s firearm.
During the struggle, the officer repeatedly yells, “Get off my gun! Get off my gun!” He also radios for help. Lemagne eventually gets behind the wheel of the officer’s cruiser and puts it in reverse, slamming on the gas pedal and driving it away from the gas station.
The two other officers respond to the scene and are seen opening fire.
Davis says Officer Grubb opened fire on Lemagne. A second officer, Officer Momon, who Davis called a hero, charged toward the crashed police vehicle believing the officer inside had been shot.
That officer reached into the police car and pulled Lemagne off of the officer who was being attacked. The officer, a 24-year veteran, pulled out their firearm and shot the suspect. Lemagne died at the scene.
The officers are seen on camera checking the officer who was attacked for gunshot wounds. The attacked police officer told officers he didn’t know if he had been shot. The officer was not shot.
“In my opinion his intent was to kill that police officer,” said Chief Davis.
Following the release of the body camera footage, Chief Davis called the situation a “once-in-a-generation happening” for any police department.
“He was literally assaulted, abducted and taken hostage in his own police car,” Davis said. “This is egregious. This is not the norm.”
Davis pointed to the type of holster the officers wear as a reason the officer survived the incident. They are called double retention holsters. The holster kept the gun in the holster.
“I firmly believe that if [Lemagne] was able to wrench that gun free from the officer, he would have killed him,” Davis said.
But some, have called in to question, the last three shots that were fired at Lemagne.
“Listen, this is wild,” said Kenneth Corey. The now retired NYPD Chief weighed in on the video just hours after the release.
“I don’t think that in 34 years of policing I’ve ever seen an officer pulled into his own patrol car, literally by his holster, and then take off with a suspect on top of him,” said Corey.
Source asked him his reaction to the final three gunshots that were fired.
“I mean listen that is really disturbing to watch and I think it’s gonna be really disturbing for anybody to watch. I don’t know why the officer does that. I know why he pulls them out of the car, obviously the other officer’s underneath him and he’s trying to render aid,” he said.
Corey explained that it brings a lot of questions. “Those last three shots that are fired. I don’t know why those shots got fired and I also can’t see what the office or sees so I can’t tell. I watched it several times and I can’t tell if there was something in that individuals hands at that moment or something that prompts the officer to fire, but it is really troubling to me and really disturbing to see that”.
He added that “people are gonna question the necessity of those last three shots and they may end up being completely justifiable. Like I said there’s information that’s not being provided here, but on the surface, I think there needs to be a little more transparency and some explanation.
Davis said there are still questions they need answers to, and the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
The two officers who fired on Lemagne have been placed on restricted duty status pending the outcome of the investigation. He said the investigation will look at all of the actions, behaviors and decisions made by the officers.
When asked if the shooting was justified. Davis responded “I believe the actions of the two responding officers were more than appropriate given what we know then and now”.
“These officers ran toward gunfire and their only intent was the save a police officer who was screaming for help,” Davis said.