DC police officer fatally shoots man in Northeast

D.C. police say one of its officers shot and killed a man early Monday morning in Northeast D.C.

It is the same neighborhood where police have shot three other people in the last eleven months.

Just after 2 a.m. near 53rd Street and Clay Terrace, police say an officer, just months out of the academy, attempted to stop a man who was acting suspiciously. The man took off running before falling to the ground and losing his weapon.

According to D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, the officer told the man to leave the gun on the ground, and when he ignored the officer's commands, the man was shot once.

Two sources familiar with the investigation said the man was shot in the neck and was taken to Prince George's Hospital Center where he died.

The man's name has not been released. Police said the handgun he had was a BB gun.

Although there is nothing to indicate race played a role in the shooting, Chief Lanier confirmed the officer is white and the suspect is black.

Since March of last year, D.C. police officers have shot four people in the same neighborhood - two of them fatal.

"This is an area that has got police presence 24 hours a day, seven days a week because of homicides as well," said Chief Lanier. "There has been a lot of violence up in that community. We know that PCP is extremely prevalent in that community, so we can't have officers not be present in that community because their job is to help make sure the community is safe as well."

Last week, a report released by the District of Columbia auditor revealed the Metropolitan Police Department was abiding by use of force rules and protocols put into place after the Justice Department began an investigation of the department.

The auditor's report said investigators found no evidence of excessive force within the police department.