No charges filed against off-duty MPD officer who shot, killed armed man at the Wharf

Investigation of deadly police shooting at the Wharf

A man is dead and an officer is on leave after a shooting at the Wharf over the weekend. FOX 5's Nana-Sentuo Bonsu has learned more about the officer who pulled the trigger and what led to the shooting.

WASHINGTON - A D.C. police commander will not face charges for shooting an armed man while off-duty at the Wharf in Southwest in 2022.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. announced on Thursday that there was insufficient evidence to pursue charges against MPD Commander Jason Bagshaw of the Special Operations Division in the July 2022 deadly shooting of Lazarus Wilson, 23 of Dumfries, Virginia.

As part of the investigation into the shooting, officials reviewed law enforcement and civilian eyewitness accounts, physical evidence, recorded radio communications, forensic reports, the autopsy report, and police reports.

The shooting happened around 9 p.m. on July 16 as Commander Bagshaw was leaving a restaurant at the Wharf with his wife, who is an MPD investigator. According to investigators, Bagshaw and his wife noticed a commotion in the area Wharf Street SW and the Potomac River, and they left the restaurant to head in that direction.

Police said as the two exited the restaurant, they observed Wilson pointing a gun at another person in what appeared to be a robbery attempt. A friend of Wilson's was also at the scene.

An incident report filed after the incident, revealed that Wilson had allegedly robbed someone just before Bagshaw fired his weapon. According to the report, Wilson and another person met up with two people to sell them an unidentified item, but instead of conducting the transaction, they allegedly pulled out guns and demanded cash from the victims.

New bodycam video of deadly DC police shooting

D.C. police released both the name of the officer who shot and killed a man at the Wharf last Saturday and the bodycam footage of the incident. FOX 5's Nana-Sentuo Bonsu reports on the police update.

Investigators said after observing the gun, Commander Bagshaw retrieved his service weapon and yelled at Wilson to drop his gun. Wilson did not comply, and Commander Bagshaw shot his service gun once, hitting Wilson in the left cheek, according to investigators. Wilson's gun was recovered at the scene.

Wilson was taken to an area hospital, and later pronounced dead.

Federal officials said after a careful review of the evidence, they found insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Commander Bagshaw used excessive force in the shooting.

The incident was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Metropolitan Police Department's Internal Affairs department.