Man fatally shot by Montgomery Co. officer during barricade situation was justified, authorities say

SILVER SPRING, Md. - Authorities have concluded that the fatal shooting of a man by a Montgomery County police officer during a barricade situation was justified, officials say.

According to police, officers responded to the 2800 block of Mozart Drive in Silver Spring on July 23 after receiving a 911 call from a woman heard screaming and reporting an assault. The 911 operator reported hearing a man say, "I will [expletive] kill you,' before the call ended.

When police arrived at the scene, Jean Carlos Natera-Perez had barricaded himself inside his ex-girlfriend's home with their 3-year-old son inside. Officers saw Natera-Perez was armed with a knife and had blood on his clothes while refusing police's order to leave the home, officials say.

Police say Natera-Perez assaulted his ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend before they were able to escape from the home. However, the suspect stayed inside with his young son and would eventually light fires inside the townhouse.

After police negotiated with Natera-Perez for more than an hour for him to release the child and come out of the home, police say he lit an object on fire and threw it out of the house while also writing on the windows with what appeared to be blood. With smoke billowing out of the home, this led to the decision for a SWAT team to enter the house where Officer Edward Cochran, an eight-year veteran of the department, shot Natera-Perez in the master bedroom.

Natera-Perez would die two days later at the hospital. The 3-year-old boy was rescued from the home unharmed.

After a review of the 911 calls, officer body-camera footage, radio transmissions, interviews with witnesses and statements from officers involved in the incident, the Howard County State's Attorney Office's independent investigation into the incident determined that the use of deadly force was justified under the circumstances.

On Wednesday, Montgomery County police released body-camera video from the first officer who responded to the Silver Spring neighborhood along with the 911 call made from Natera-Perez's ex-girlfriend.