Police officer charged with shooting near stalled vehicle

BOWIE, Md. – A Bowie police officer has been charged with attempted second-degree murder after a Prince George's County grand jury returned an indictment against him Thursday.

Sergeant. Robert Warrington, a 12-year veteran of the force, was caught on video shooting at a man after he pulled up behind an apparent stranded driver on Collington Road in Bowie around 8 a.m. on September 12. He had stopped his vehicle to assist what was believed to be a stranded driver on northbound Collington Road (MD 197) and eastbound John Hanson Highway (US 50). As the officer approached the vehicle, he fired his firearm, striking a passing vehicle, police said.

During the investigation it emerged that a video released by police shows Warrington pulling up behind a car with its hazard lights on. As he opened his door, a man can be seen walking alongside the patrol car and walking toward the passenger side of the car, which was parked on the shoulder with its lights flashing. “Are you here to help her?” Warrington can be heard asking the man, who replied, “No, she's taking me to the hospital,” apparently referring to the woman in the stranded vehicle.

About three seconds after the exchange of blows, the officer can be seen pulling out his service weapon and firing in the man's direction. The man fell to the ground as the woman in the car got out and repeatedly screamed, “What did you do?” Warrington can be heard saying, “He had a gun,” and the man responded from the ground, “I don't have one.” Weapon.” Shortly afterwards, Warrington can be heard repeating “I'm sorry” several times. The man was not shot; instead, prosecutors said a bullet from the officer's gun struck a passing car.

“When the actions of an officer or anyone, even a civilian, show a disregard for life, the law is there to hold them accountable and that is exactly what is happening in this case,” said Aisha Braveboy, Prince’s prosecutor George's County said in a statement.

During Warrington's arraignment, Bowie police also released Warrington's body camera and dashcam footage showing the Sept. 12 shooting.

“I support the independent, objective grand jury process. Sgt Warrington is suspended without pay. Consistent with my statement to the community on September 23, 2024, I have agreed to make the vehicle and body-worn camera footage available to the public thereafter ask me,” Bowie Police Chief Dwayne A. Preston said in a statement.