Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 26, 1993 TAG: 9306260167
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: UPPER MARLBORO, MD. LENGTH: Medium
Archie Elliott III was shot last week as he allegedly pointed a handgun at the officers from the front seat of a District Heights police car. Elliott, wearing only shorts, had been seat-belted in, and his hands were cuffed behind his back.
An autopsy report, released Thursday, showed Elliott was shot in the chest, back, buttocks, arm and right hand.
"They are taught to shoot to kill," when they believe their safety is in jeopardy, said District Heights Police Chief Michael Conboy after the report was released.
Elliott was the son of Portsmouth, Va., General District Judge Archie Elliott Jr. and Dorothy Elliott, a high school teacher in Forestville.
Elliott was arrested June 18 on charges of drunken driving by District Heights Police Officer Jason Leavitt, who said he saw Elliott driving erratically down a city street.
After Elliott failed several sobriety tests, Leavitt cuffed his hands behind his back and placed him in the front seat of the police cruiser. But Leavitt apparently failed to search Elliott properly, according to Prince George's County and District Heights police.
When Prince George's County Police Officer Wayne Cheney arrived on the scene moments later, the two officers noticed that Elliott was holding a .22-caliber revolver in his cuffed hands and pointing it at them, police said. They opened fire when Elliott allegedly disobeyed a command to drop the weapon, police said.
In a statement released Thursday, Maryland's chief medical examiner said Elliott sustained injuries exclusively on the right side of his body - the side facing the patrol car's passenger-side door. The autopsy also uncovered evidence of "acute alcohol intoxication."
Capt. James White, a spokesman for the Prince George's County Police Department, said both officers fired their semiautomatic handguns. White said it was unclear how many shots the officers fired, but said the fusillade probably lasted less than five seconds.
Elliott's parents raised questions last week about the police version of the shooting, particularly about whether Elliott had a gun at the time of his arrest.
The FBI will conduct an investigation to determine if Leavitt and Cheney violated Elliott's civil rights, FBI spokesman Andrew Manning said.
Manning said the findings will be forwarded to FBI headquarters, where officials will decide whether to file federal charges.
White welcomed the federal inquiry.
"If there were any violations, certainly we want to know about them," he said.
Both officers are on administrative leave until investigations are complete.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB