DC Police Officer Furious After PG County Police Mistake Him for Suspect: Report

UPPER MARLBORO, MD — Prince George's County Police are standing behind one of their officers after an off-duty D.C. police officer claimed he was racially profiled after the Tuesday shooting at Iverson Mall in Temple Hills.

Robert Parker, an off-duty D.C. police officer who was dressed in clothes similar to the description of a suspect in a shooting at the Temple Hills mall, says he was thrown to the ground and punched by a Prince George's County Police officer, despite informing him that he was also a police officer, according to a Fox 5 report.

The report notes that Parker claims he was beaten by the officer despite obeying commands and identifying himself as a police officer. He told the station that if he had been white, he doesn't think the incident would have happened.

The Prince George's County Police Department defended the officer's actions in a statement, saying that he "acted professionally and with restraint," and that police were especially on guard because of his proximity to a shooting.

"This encounter took place within several minutes of the shooting being reported at the mall and approximately three blocks from the scene," the statement reads. "Our officer who was responding to the shooting-- which had just prompted the lockdown of two nearby schools -- spotted a man walking who matched the broadcast suspect description. Our officer -- a sergeant assigned to our District IV station -- got out of his cruiser and began an investigatory stop."

The officer found a gun in Parker's waistband, and then "took the man to the ground during a brief struggle."

The statement contradicts Parker, saying that only after he had been restrained by the original officer and backup officers did he identify himself as an officer.

Image via Flickr user Scott Davidson