Six Hyattsville officers who fatally shot Leonard Shand have been placed back into “full-duty” status, despite an ongoing investigation into the events leading up to Shand’s death. Normally, the officers would remain on “administrative leave” until such an investigation is complete.
In press releases issued at the time of Shand’s death in late September 2019, Hyattsville officials identified eight city police officers on the scene of the shooting. Three Prince George’s County officers and one Mount Rainier officer were also present.
The announcement said, in a statement attributed to Hyattsville Chief of Police Amal Awad, that the department has “been operating with minimum staffing for more than a year.”
“We simply cannot afford to continue operating at these levels as it could compromise officer response times and the safety of our city,” read the statement attributed to Award.
Hyattsville City Administrator Tracey Douglas informed City Council of the move April 6, 2020. The officers have been available to work since April 13, 2020.
Unlike other Hyattsville announcements issued since the coronavirus pandemic came ashore, this announcement was not immediately posted to the neighborhood email listservs.
The investigation into the events leading up to 10 police killing Leonard Shand, who police said was armed with two knives, is still being conducted by the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit. Hyattsville city officials said they have no updates on the status of that investigation.
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