FLASHBACK: 6 Months Ago, Another Afghani Migrant Became Unhindged During A Basic Traffic Stop, Ends Up Shooting 2 Cops
6 days ago
Fairfax County’s police chief says just-released body cam video of a deadly police shooting shows the man who died was intent on killing an officer.
The exchange of gunfire came during a traffic stop April 23 near the Greenbriar Town Center off Route 50 in Fairfax. Two officers were also wounded in the gunfire.
The chief credits a young officer for saving the lives of his colleagues.
The police body cam video shows the trouble started from the moment an officer pulled over Jamal Wali for having an expired safety inspection sticker and Wali slams on the brakes. When the officer reaches the car, Wali tells him he has a gun, wearing it in a holster.
The video shows Wali is clearly agitated and angry, shouting and cursing, refusing to give his name and telling the officer he doesn’t have a driver’s license or registration.
In the video, Wali begins complaining about his treatment in this country. A married father of four, he came to the United States in 2014 after working as a translator for U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
The officer repeatedly tries to calm him.
Wali starts his GoPro camera. As he reaches toward his gun, the officer calls for backup. Wali makes a cryptic statement, saying, "Today's the day, buddy."
Just seconds after two other officers arrive, with one positioned at the passenger side, Wali racks a round into his gun. And as one officer grabs his arm, he fires at the two officers on the driver’s side. The same bullet hits each one of them in the arm.
Wali’s own GoPro shows he tried to reload and shoot the other officer. But Officer Ian LaChapelle was able to fire first, striking Wali.
Chief Kevin Davis credits LaChapelle for saving his fellow officers.
"We also realize, in this particular scenario, that we are very fortunate we didn’t have two police funerals," Davis said. "His actions, his deployment of that deadly force saved the lives of the two officers who were on the driver’s side of the car. There’s no doubt about that."
Davis also said the officer who made the traffic stop did his best to deescalate the situation, but Davis said he believes Wali's "Today's the day" statement and his decision to turn on the camera were signs he intended to kill.
"Those are all indicative that he probably, perhaps anticipated trying to kill a cop and, in fact, he did try to kill two uniformed Fairfax County police officers," Davis said.
