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DEADLY FORCE
Officer Cleared In Fatal Shooting Sports
The Training Police ‘Never Want To Use’
Three police-involved shootings in low-crime Loudoun County in less than one year prompted Ashburn Today to ask about officer training. We spent a day at the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy and a morning at the shooting range to get a firsthand look.
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OCTOBER 2, 2014
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Educa t io n
VOLUME 8
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Ashburn Today Staff
L if e s t yle s Cla ss if ie d
four-month investigation into the fatal shooting of a Purcellville youth by a town police officer has concluded the officer was justified in his actions. Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Plowman publicly released the report last Thursday, just hours after meeting with the parents of 17-yearold Christian Sierra to explain the findings. The shooting—the second fatal police-involved shooting in Loudoun within a year—happened May 24 when, at 2:14 p.m. the Purcellville Police Department received a call reporting a youth threatening suicide at a Frazer Drive townhouse. As officers responded, they were told the subject was running through the neighborhood, possibly armed with a knife. Officer Timothy Hood was one of three officers to respond to the call. He arrived on the scene to find Sierra holding a knife and struggling with someone on the curb of the street. He got out of his cruiser and ordered the youth to drop the knife. According to witnesses, Sierra disregarded those commands and advanced toward Hood. Hood fired four times, fatally shooting the boy. The incident was over in about 10 seconds, Plowman said. “The Officer’s actions constitute a justifiable homicide as the killing was a reasonable use of lethal force and was undertaken in self-defense,” the report stated. Following the shooting, the State Police were immediately called by Purcellville Police Chief Darryl Smith to lead the investigation in the case. The investigative report released by Plowman included reports from 10 members of the State Police, five Loudoun Sheriff’s Office officers and seven members of the Purcellville PD, as well as interviews with eight civilian witnesses. The report reveals Sierra was a troubled youth with a record of run-ins with town police, a history
O pinio n
Zack Wajsgras
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For Ashburn Today n a recent morning at the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy, tucked at the end of a quiet road north of Rt. 7 in Ashburn, a group of about 50 recruits passed
by this reporter and each one said with a smile, “Good morning.” Even that is part of the training at the center, which prepares officers in 17 of the region’s agencies for the field, including departments as large as Loudoun County’s to those as small as Middleburg. “We encourage them to look people in the eye and greet them,” William C. O’Toole, academy
executive director, said as the recruits shuffled past. “Not in a military-type manner, but in a polite I’mhere-to-help way.” A chance to serve his community is what drew Brian Patterson to a career in law enforcement 36 years ago. He worked with Fairfax County Police Department for 27 years and is now the DefenContinued on Page 20
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Ashburn Today/Zack Wajsgras
Deputy Fabiana Leal takes critiques from an instructor during a firearms training class at Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office firing range. The class is part of officers’ yearly requirement to refresh their field skills.
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