DHS says Bebber fired defensive shots
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson
“During the attempted stop, the suspect drove his vehicle at a Metro Police officer and a special agent from Homeland Security Investigations, in a deliberate attempt to run them down. The agent, in fear for his life, and the lives of others, and the public fired defensive shots into the suspect’s vehicle.”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Associated Press reporting on the shooting, DHS's defensive-fire account, the omission of the gunfire from the initial arrest report, bullet damage described by Brown's lawyers and dismissal of Brown's fleeing charge.
Reporting
About this source
Guardian report reproducing Quo Mieko Judkins’s statement to Washington City Paper and DHS’s contemporaneous defense of the shooting.
Before the quotation
DHS responded after Brown’s attorneys challenged the shooting and the omission of gunfire from the initial police report.
After the quotation
The agency said the shooting was under investigation and framed the incident as part of a broader pattern of vehicles being used against officers.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Was HSI Agent Benedict Bebber justified in firing at Phillip M. Brown?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
She explicitly supplies a self-defense justification for Bebber’s decision to fire.
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Was HSI Agent Benedict Bebber justified in firing at Phillip M. Brown?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full caseNot In Our Name
“It is not a reason to fire into his car, and it is not why the shooting was left out of two police reports.”Read statement
“It demonstrates that Homeland Security acted similarly to they did in Minneapolis with Renee Good, using the vehicle as an excuse to attempt to murder someone in cold blood. We demand charges. We want federal agents held accountable, as well as MPD and investigators. You cannot nearly take someone’s life in D.C. and simply return to work, continuing to patrol our streets.”Read statement
“While MPD released only a brief segment of the officer’s body camera footage, it highlights what Mr. Brown’s legal team has maintained since the incident—he was nearly killed by his own government without justification.”Read statement