Critical Investigation Updates

This page includes information regarding Gaithersburg Police Department police-involved incidents that are investigated by the Independent Investigations Division (IID).

Pursuant to Maryland Code, State Government Article Section 6-602, the IID investigates all police-involved incidents that result in the death of an individual or injuries that are likely to result in the death of an individual occurring in the State of Maryland.

Upon completion of the investigation and review by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, the IID will release a statement confirming it has completed the investigation along with its findings.

The IID will generally release the name of the involved officers within two business days of the incident although that period may be extended, if necessary, pursuant to IID protocol. The IID will generally release body camera footage, dashboard camera, and/or other related video within 20 days of the incident, although that period may be extended, if necessary, pursuant to IID protocol.

Officer-Involved Shooting – July 12, 2026

Incident Summary (July 12, 2026)

On Sunday, July 12, 2026, at approximately 6:47 p.m., Gaithersburg Police officers and Montgomery County Police officers responded to the 9600 block of Lost Knife Road for a report of a male subject at a bus stop loading a handgun. During the encounter, officers from both agencies discharged their service weapons at the individual, later identified as Elliott Powers. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provided medical aid; Mr. Powers was pronounced deceased at the scene. A handgun was recovered nearby.

Independent Investigations Division

Pursuant to Maryland Code, State Government § 6‑602, the Independent Investigations Division (IID) of the Office of the Attorney General investigates police‑involved incidents resulting in death or injuries likely to result in death. The IID led the investigation of this incident, and, on September 8, 2026, the IID released its Investigative Report, concluding that the officers’ actions complied with Maryland criminal law and Md. Code, Public Safety § 3‑524, and determining that no criminal charges were warranted. The IID’s report summarizes the evidence reviewed, including body‑worn and in‑car camera footage, dispatch records, reports, photographs, department policies, and interviews with civilian and law enforcement witnesses. These materials formed the basis of the IID’s factual findings and the following Investigation Summary from their report:

The IID investigated a police-involved fatal shooting in Montgomery County, Maryland that involved three Gaithersburg Police Department (GPD) officers, three Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) officers, and a man later identified as Elliott Powers. The IID’s Investigation focused exclusively on potential criminal culpability relating to the subject officers’ conduct. During the investigation, the IID obtained evidence, including police radio transmissions, dispatch records, police and EMS reports, police body-worn camera footage, surveillance camera footage, photographs, department policies, and interviews with civilian and law enforcement witnesses. Based on that evidence, the IID has made the following factual findings.

On July 12, 2026, at 6:47 p.m., MCPD received a 911 call reporting that a man, later identified as Elliott Powers, was loading a gun at a bus stop in the 9600 block of Lost Knife Road in Gaithersburg. The caller described Powers as a Black male between 40 and 50 years old, wearing a hat and all black clothing. The call and Powers’s description were radioed to officers roughly a minute later. Multiple officers responded to the scene, including GPD Sergeant Christopher Leach, GPD Officers Carissa Fortin and Noah Whelan, and MCPD Officers Robert Bullock, Andrew Hanko, and Michael Wengloski.

Multiple officers began to arrive at the bus stop at 6:59 p.m. Sgt. Leach and a GPD witness officer were the first to arrive and they approached Powers on foot. As Sgt. Leach got closer to Powers, he asked to see Powers’s hands. Powers drew a 9mm handgun from a backpack. Sgt. Leach and the GPD witness officer immediately backed away, drew their service handguns, and loudly ordered Powers to drop the gun. Powers responded, “I ain’t dropping [explative].” Powers chambered a live round into the handgun by racking its slide. Sgt. Leach radioed dispatch to confirm that Powers had a handgun and directed the GPD witness officer to try to talk with Powers.

The GPD witness officer asked Powers to “please just drop” the handgun. Powers refused and said that the police were going to have to kill him. More officers arrived over the next several minutes. By 7:02 p.m., Officers Fortin, Whelan, Bullock, Hanko, and Wengloski were on scene. Officers Fortin, Whelan, Bullock, and Wengloski were armed with rifles, and Officer Hanko, like Sgt. Leach, was armed with a handgun. The GPD witness officer continued talking with Powers. Sgt. Leach requested a negotiator, then directed the GPD witness officer to temporarily back away in an effort to de-escalate by giving Powers space. Dispatchers radioed that a negotiator was enroute to the scene at 7:04 p.m.

Multiple officers remained positioned in a semi-circle around Powers for roughly nine minutes. During that time, subject officers expressed concerns about the presence of bystanders in a shopping center behind the bus stop, and plans were made to evacuate the shopping center while other officers cordoned off the parking lot. Officers Bullock and Wengloski discussed with other officers a plan to take Powers into custody without using deadly force. The GPD witness officer resumed efforts to verbally de-escalate the situation with Powers. Powers responded negatively to the de-escalation attempts, including daring officers to shoot him and stating, “everybody that stay around me is dead…everybody that stay around me gets a funeral.” At 7:11 p.m., the on-scene officers reconfirmed via radio that Sgt. Leach and the GPD witness officer had seen Powers holding and loading a handgun.

At 7:12 p.m., an MCPD witness officer began moving toward the shopping center parking lot to assist with evacuating bystanders. Powers responded by raising his handgun in that officer’s direction. As soon as Powers raised the handgun, the subject officers opened fire, striking Powers multiple times.

A still photo from a police dashboard camera that captured the moment Powers pointed the gun, circled in red, in the direction of an MCPD witness officer

A still photo from a police dashboard camera that captured the moment Powers pointed the gun, circled in red, in the direction of an MCPD witness officer.

A photograph of the handgun recovered from Powers

A photograph of the handgun recovered from Powers.

Officers moved to secure the handgun and provide Powers with medical aid. EMS medics arrived and took over treatment a short time later. Medics provided Powers with medical aid for several minutes, and ultimately pronounced Powers deceased at the scene.

The complete OAG IID report can be found in the link below.

Use of Force Standard Reviewed by IID

In its declination report, the IID evaluated the officers’ actions under Maryland’s statewide Use‑of‑Force Statute (Public Safety § 3‑524), which requires that force be necessary and proportional to prevent an imminent threat or accomplish a legitimate law‑enforcement objective. On page 5 of the report, the IID states that, based on the totality of the circumstances, there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers used force beyond what was necessary and proportional. This legal conclusion is part of IID’s criminal analysis, it is not an administrative finding, but rather a determination that the evidence did not support criminal prosecution.

Departmental Administrative Use of Force Review

Separate from IID’s criminal analysis, the Gaithersburg Police Department conducted a use‑of‑force review on September 9, 2026. This administrative review evaluated the officers’ actions under GPD policy and statewide standards, including Md. Code, Public Safety § 3‑524, which governs necessary and proportional force, de‑escalation, and documentation requirements. The department reviewed all available evidence, including body worn camera footage, in car camera recordings, and the OAG IID investigative report. Based on this thorough evaluation, the department concluded that the officers’ actions were fully consistent with established policy, training standards, and the professional expectations of Gaithersburg Police officers.

Updates & Press Releases

In-Custody Death – December 24, 2024

On Tuesday, December 24, 2024, at approximately 10:15 p.m., Gaithersburg officers responded to the 300 block of North Summit Avenue for a man causing a disturbance.

Upon arrival, officers encountered an adult male lying on the ground in front of an apartment building. The man was covered in blood, conscious, and acting erratically. The man then stood up and walked away from the apartment building. The officers recognized the man required medical treatment, so they held him while they provided life-saving measures, to include the deployment of an AED, until Fire Rescue responded and transported the man to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead on Thursday, December 26, 2024.

Per Maryland law, the investigation into the incident has been handed over to the Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division (IID). All media inquiries should be directed to the IID.

Updates & Press Releases

Officer-Involved Shooting – January 8, 2021

On Friday, January 8, 2021, an officer-involved shooting resulted in the death of 24-year-old Kwamena Ocran. On March 15, 2021, the case was turned over to the Howard County State’s Attorney for review and further investigation. On October 7, 2021, a Montgomery County Grand Jury returned a decision of no indictment. The Grand Jury report, prepared by the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office, was publicly released by the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office and is linked below.

More information about the incident can be reviewed at these links:

Below are links to portions of audio from interviews with each of the four officers involved in the shooting, that relate to the discharge of their weapons. The questioning was conducted in Howard County by the Deputy State’s Attorney for Howard County. Also present during the interviews was a homicide detective and legal counsel for each of the four officers. The statements given by the officers were voluntary.

Incident Background

We understand that the incident has raised many questions in our community. As our nation grapples with Police Reform efforts that have taken on a much needed sense of urgency since the protests for racial justice during the summer of 2020, many are calling for instituting best practices for investigating and adjudicating police-involved shootings and use of force. In Gaithersburg, many of those reform efforts were already integral to our policies and practices and have been for several years. We invite you to review those policies & practices here.

The Gaithersburg Police Department uses an outside, independent agency to conduct the investigation of police involved shootings, a practice that has been in place for over a decade. See the Officer-Involved Shooting Investigations section above for details on the independent review arrangement, in which Montgomery County Police investigates the incident for the Howard County State’s Attorney.

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Critical Investigation Updates

Incident Summary (July 12, 2026)

Independent Investigations Division

Use of Force Standard Reviewed by IID

Departmental Administrative Use of Force Review

Updates & Press Releases

Updates & Press Releases

Incident Background