Death by Cop 2021-2025
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Rogelio Sanchez Gomez
Age : 44
Gender : Male
Race : Latino/a/e
Date : 08/15/2023
Location : Intersection of Suitland Road and Allentown Road
City : Morningside Park
County : Prince George
State : Maryland
Agency : Morningside Park PD
Officer(s) :Stephen Huddleston
Cause of Death : Gunshot
Event : Third party motorist killed by police chase crash
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On 08/13/2023, at approximately 1:40 p.m., Prince George's County 911 received a call reporting that the occupants of a black BMW were following another vehicle on Suitland Road and firing gunshots. Several minutes later, Morningside Police Officer Stephen Huddleston spotted a black BMW matching the description traveling on Suitland Road near the location provided by the caller. Huddleston attempted to stop the BMW. The driver, later identified as Dashawn Redding, continued driving away while Officer Huddleston pursued.
As the pursuit reached the intersection of Suitland Road and Allentown Road, Redding lost control of the BMW and crashed into a silver Ford Fusion driven by 44-year-old Rogelio Sánchez Gomez. The impact forced Gómez's vehicle into another vehicle traveling on Allentown Road. Gómez suffered life-threatening injuries. Two children riding in his vehicle were also injured but survived. Redding fled on foot after the crash before officers arrested him nearby. Investigators recovered a handgun from the BMW.
Sánchez Gomez was transported to a hospital, where he died on 08/15/2023 from injuries sustained in the collision. After his death, the Maryland Office of the Attorney General's Independent Investigations Division (IID) assumed jurisdiction because the collision resulted from a police pursuit that ended in a civilian death.
The IID investigated the pursuit, reviewing body-camera footage, witness interviews, 911 recordings, forensic evidence, crash reconstruction, and other investigative materials. On 06/24/2024, the Attorney General released the investigative reports and body-camera footage. Investigators concluded there was insufficient evidence to support criminal charges against Officer Stephen Huddleston. The Prince George's County State's Attorney declined prosecution on 07/01/2024.
