A police officer in Prince George's County, Maryland had a close call Thursday afternoon after a suspect's gun misfired.
Officials say that two officers pulled over a vehicle on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway around 3 p.m. that was driving approximately 25 miles per hour and was slowing traffic.
When the car came to a stop, 21-year-old Joseph Chatman Clay bailed out of the front passenger seat and began to run.
One of the officers went in pursuit on foot and as he was just a few feet away, officials say Clay put a gun under his arm, pointed it at the officer and pulled the trigger. Luckily for the officer, the gun misfired. Clay then continued to run and tossed the firearm over the fence.
Meanwhile, an off-duty Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Deputy who had overhead the radio traffic came to assist the officers and was able to tackle the fleeing suspect.
Clay got back up and tried to run but the deputy and the officer were able to take him into custody.
He has been charged with attempted murder and also had an open warrant for attempted murder in connection with a shooting in August in Riverdale.
The driver of the car, identified as 24-year-old David Edward Hall, is also facing drug charges.
The officer involved in the foot pursuit suffered an injury to his leg and was treated and released from a local hospital.
Paul Peluso | Editor
Paul Peluso is the Managing Editor of OFFICER Magazine and has been with the Officer Media Group since 2006. He began as an Associate Editor, writing and editing content for Officer.com. Previously, Paul worked as a reporter for several newspapers in the suburbs of Baltimore, MD.
