Man Who Stole A U-Haul Abducts Police Officer, Suspect Gets Filled With Lead

Fairfax County police on Thursday released bodycam footage of a deadly officer-involved shooting involving a man suspected of driving a stolen U-Haul earlier this month.

"Our officer was attacked, to say the least," said Chief Kevin Davis. "The perpetrator attempted to viciously and violently to disarm our uniformed Fairfax County police officer, I think you saw that. On top of that, he was literally abducted and taken hostage in his own police car."

On Thursday, May 11, the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) reported that one of its officers was involved in a "struggle" with a man, identified as Brandon Lemagne, 38, at a gas station parking lot in the 6300 block of Richmond Highway.

Officers fired their guns during the struggle, killing Lemagne at the scene, police said.

FCPD said no officers were injured by gunfire during the incident. However, one officer was injured in the fight with the suspect.

According to Davis, the officer was responding to investigate a stolen U-Haul out of Richmond, Virginia that was spotted in the Alexandria section of the county.

The officer pulled into the gas station to talk to the driver, who was standing outside the U-Haul. Richmond police told 7News they had received a report of an "unauthorized use" of a U-Haul vehicle Tuesday, May 9, around 9 a.m. on East Belt Boulevard.

"As this is all happening, the officer is on his radio saying he's being attacked and that the assailant has his gun," Davis said.

As other officers are arriving on the scene, the marked police are put in reverse and slam into a parked car at a nearby McDonald's parking lot. Police said the cruiser then struck a business and came to a stop. Lemagne continued his assault on the officer as two officers arrived on the scene.

In the video, you can hear the initial shooting. You then see other responding officers pull the man from the marked patrol car, and then you hear more gunshots. Davis said the responding officers had to pull the man off the officer in the car.

Lemagne was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

"The officers who responded did so quickly and acted with a great amount of bravery, particularly our 24-year veteran who literally pulled the assailant off of our police officer," Davis added.

The officer who was assaulted suffered scrapes, and bruises, and his eye was bloodied.

7News previously investigated Lemagne's past and found in 2015 in York County, Virginia, he was also accused of assaulting officers, in addition to a charge for allegedly escaping jail. Court records indicate prosecutors did not pursue the charges.

Lemagne has also faced many fraud and money-related charges over the years, according to court records.

The officers involved in the shooting have been identified as a 24-year veteran and an eight-year veteran, both assigned to the Mount Vernon Police District. As per department policy, the officers have been placed on restricted duty status, pending the outcome of the criminal and administrative investigation.