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Andrew T. Ainsworth

Age : 60

Gender : Male

Race : Native American

Date : 08/29/2022

Location : Fontaine Avenue ramp to Route 29 Bypass

City : Charlottesville

County : Albermarle

State : Virginia

Agency : U.S. Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force; Albemarle County Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police following vehicle pursuit during attempted arrest

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/29/2022, three members of a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force shot and killed 60-year-old Andrew T. Ainsworth following a vehicle pursuit that ended on the Fontaine Avenue ramp to the Route 29 Bypass in Albemarle County. The task force included an Albemarle County Police Department officer. Ainsworth was wanted on a federal probation violation stemming from Nebraska.
Shortly before 10 p.m., members of the multi-agency task force located Ainsworth driving a Toyota pickup eastbound in the Charlottesville area and attempted to stop him. Ainsworth continued driving away while police pursued. The pursuit was described by authorities as brief and ended when Ainsworth crashed the pickup on the ramp connecting Fontaine Avenue with the Route 29 Bypass.
Task-force officers approached the crashed pickup and ordered Ainsworth to get out and surrender. According to Virginia State Police, Ainsworth remained inside the vehicle and fired a handgun at the approaching officers. Three task-force officers then fired into the pickup.
Police-radio traffic recorded during the confrontation captured officers reporting that Ainsworth was not complying, followed almost immediately by reports of shots fired and that he was down. Ainsworth died at the scene. Police recovered a firearm from inside the Toyota.
The original investigation did not immediately establish which of the three officers fired the bullet or bullets that killed Ainsworth. One of the three shooters was confirmed to be an Albemarle County Police Department officer assigned to the federal task force. That officer was placed on administrative leave while Virginia State Police investigated the killing.
Ainsworth's body was transported to the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for autopsy. Virginia State Police assumed responsibility for the shooting investigation because an Albemarle County officer had participated in the gunfire.
The federal warrant was for a probation violation. Ainsworth's most recent known residence was Omaha, Nebraska. Federal court records showed a lengthy history of bank-robbery convictions involving Nebraska, Minnesota and New Mexico, as well as a prior escape conviction.
The case did receive later official review that was not available in the initial news coverage. A Commonwealth's Attorney report concerning Ainsworth's killing was subsequently obtained through a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request and preserved by OpenOversight Virginia. The existence of that later prosecutorial report confirms that the shooting underwent review beyond the initial Virginia State Police investigation.
No criminal prosecution of any of the three task-force officers resulted from the shooting. No later civil wrongful-death settlement or court judgment arising from Ainsworth's death was located during this update.
The case remains notable for the limited public identification of the shooters. Authorities acknowledged that three task-force officers fired at Ainsworth and specifically disclosed that one was an Albemarle County police officer, but the publicly accessible reporting and records located for this update do not provide reliable names for all three shooters.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Three U.S. Marshals fugitive-task-force members fired at Ainsworth, including an Albemarle County Police Department officer. Their identities have not been reliably established in the publicly accessible records located for this update.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.nbc29.com/2022/08/30/vsp-investigating-officer-involved-shooting-along-fontaine-ave/
https://kfgo.com/2022/08/31/federal-fugitive-fatally-shot-by-police-in-virginia/
https://www.foxnews.com/us/federal-fugitive-andrew-ainsworth-fatally-shot-police-virginia
https://c-ville.com/in-brief-city-wants-brackney-lawsuit-dismissed/
https://openoversightva.org/documents?department=10&title=