Man shot, killed during struggle with police officers in Alexandria
Frantic call details officer involved shooting in Alexandria
FOX 5's Stephanie Ramirez shares new details on the deadly officer-involved shooting that happened in an Alexandria McDonald's Thursday. Audio from the responding officer's frantic call has been released, detailing what allegedly went down during the altercation.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A man is dead after Fairfax County police said he was shot during a struggle with officers in a McDonald's parking lot in Alexandria Thursday afternoon.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said the deadly shooting stemmed from the pursuit of a stolen U-Haul truck out of Richmond.
The altercation, Davis said during a press conference at the scene, happened in the McDonald's parking lot on Richmond Highway just after 4:00 p.m.
Chief Davis said an officer was responding to a report of a stolen U-Haul truck, which he saw in the parking lot of a nearby Citgo gas station. Police said a license plate reader picked-up the U-Haul’s tag as being reported stolen from the Richmond area on May 3.
When the officer approached the U-Haul truck and the suspect, Davis said the man — who has been identified as 38-year-old Brandon Lemagne of Newport News, Virginia — began the alleged attack.
Brandon Lemagne, 38, of Richmond, Virginia
A FCPD press release issued on Friday stated the suspect, "immediately grabbed the officer’s firearm and tried to remove it from the holster," allegedly holding onto the firearm while hitting the officer in the head.
Police claim the suspect pulled the officer across the parking lot, opened the cruiser door, and forced the officer into the cruiser.
During the scuffle, the chief said the officer was radioing that he was being attacked and that Lemagne had a gun. Those calls could be heard on the dispatch recording site OpenMhz.
At some point, the police cruiser went into reverse and somehow spun out from the gas station into the McDonald's parking lot, running over bushes and hitting another parked car.
Chief Davis said that while this was all happening - two other Fairfax County police officers were responding to the scene. One of them – a 24-year veteran of the force – ran toward the suspect and the police officer, thinking his colleague could have been shot.
Police shoot man after scuffle in Arlington McDonald's parking lot
Police are still at the scene of an officer-involved shooting off Richmond Highway where a man was shot and killed during a struggle with Fairfax County police officers. The shooting, police said, occurred after an officer approached the man for being in a U-Haul truck that was reported stolen out of Richmond. FOX 5's Jacqueline Matter has all the latest details.
Davis said that officer pulled the suspect off of his colleague, fired his gun and the chief said the suspect died at the scene.
Chief Davis called the police officer who responded "a hero," adding that the responding officer was "fighting for his life."
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The Fairfax County police officers, Davis reaffirmed, were all wearing body cameras and he expects to release those videos sooner than usual.
Sheriff Ron Montgomery of York County, Virginia confirmed for FOX 5 over the phone they still have an open warrant for Lemagne for a 2015 incident that involves an assault on a law enforcement member.
Sheriff Montgomery told FOX 5 an indictment on the matter was issued a couple of years after.
It’s likely, the responding Fairfax police officer did not know this when he initiated the U-Haul stop.
Fairfax County police said they are still working on a warrant to get into the stolen U-Haul truck.
"I received and started reviewing the body-worn camera footage last night. At this stage, consistent with standard operating procedure, my team is undertaking an independent and thorough review," said Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano on Friday. "I can assure the community that I will come to an independent decision in this matter."
In accordance with Fairfax County Police Department's bodyworn camera policy, the video will be released within days. Police also obtained surveillance video from the gas station and the Mcdonald's restaurant involved in the incident.
This is a developing story. Check back with FOX 5 for updates.