The Maryland Attorney General's Office released body camera video showing a park police officer fatally shooting a 30-year-old armed man at Fort Washington Park, the first time the state's police accountability unit has investigated the agency involved.
Alex Charles of Fort Washington, Maryland, died on scene after a Maryland-National Capital Park Police officer fired at him near the river on July 31, according to the footage and a preliminary investigation summary. Officers from three agencies, MNCPP, Prince George's County Police, and U.S. Park Police, had responded to reports of a shooting and a man walking near the water with a gun.
The body cam video, posted to YouTube by the Attorney General's Office, captures the MNCPP officer arriving at the park and stopping to speak with a bystander. The woman told the officer she had not seen anyone firing a gun but had heard gunshots. The officer then moved toward the river, where he encountered Charles.
Charles held a gun and ignored repeated commands to drop it
The footage shows the officer asking Charles several times to show his hands. Charles can be seen holding a gun. The officer then commanded Charles to "put it away" and to "drop it", repeating those orders several times.
Charles did not comply. The officer fired his weapon, striking Charles.
Officers on scene began providing first aid. Charles died at the park. A handgun was recovered near his body.
Body camera footage has become a central piece of evidence in police use-of-force cases nationwide. In one recent case, officers in Fraser were cleared after bodycam footage was released showing a fatal encounter with a knife-wielding teen.
MNCPP issued a public statement supporting the release of the footage. The department said it recognized the public interest in understanding what happened and believed transparency helps maintain trust.
"Use of force incidents, especially deadly use of force, can be concerning and difficult to process. We remain committed to transparency and accountability throughout this investigative process."
The statement is notable for its tone. Rather than circling the wagons, the park police department acknowledged the gravity of the incident and endorsed the footage release outright. That posture stands in contrast to agencies in other jurisdictions that have fought to keep body cam recordings from the public for months or even years.
Maryland's police accountability unit faces its first MNCPP case
The Independent Investigations Division, the arm of the Maryland Attorney General's Office that investigates all police-involved fatalities statewide, is handling the case. The IID was established in 2021 as part of a package of police accountability reforms in Maryland.
This marks the first time MNCPP has been the subject of an IID investigation since the division began operating. The agency patrols parks and recreational areas in Prince George's County and Montgomery County, a role that typically does not create the volume of use-of-force encounters seen in urban police departments.
The footage release follows a pattern seen across the country, where body camera video has become both a transparency tool and a flashpoint. In some cases, bodycam footage has directly contradicted public accounts of police encounters, reinforcing the value of the recordings as an objective record.
Several key questions remain unanswered. The name of the officer who fired the fatal shot has not been released. The nature of the original shooting report that drew officers to the park, whether anyone else was injured, and whether Charles was the subject of that initial call, is not addressed in the available information.
It is also unclear whether the Prince George's County officers or U.S. Park Police who responded played any role in the shooting itself, or arrived only as part of the broader response. The IID investigation is described as ongoing.
The Attorney General's Office has asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the IID at (410) 576-7070 or by email at [email protected].
Incidents involving officers and fatal use of force captured on bodycam continue to draw public scrutiny, and the speed of footage release often determines whether an agency retains or loses community trust.
An armed man, clear commands, and the facts the footage shows
Whatever the IID ultimately concludes, the body camera footage released so far shows a straightforward sequence: officers responded to a reported shooting, found a man holding a gun near the river, gave him repeated verbal commands to disarm, and fired when he did not comply.
That is the kind of fact pattern that accountability investigations exist to review, and the kind the public deserves to see for itself. MNCPP, to its credit, did not fight the release. The footage speaks clearly enough.
Transparency is not a concession. It is the bare minimum a free people should expect when the government uses lethal force, and the fastest way to separate justified action from misconduct.
