Man Accused of Killing Prince George's County Cop Ruled Competent To Stand Trial

LANDOVER, MD — The accused shooter of a Prince George's County police officer was ruled competent to stand trial Tuesday, WTOP reports.

Michael DeAndre Ford, of Landover, faces a slew of charges including murder, attempted murder and assault for allegedly firing a gun at a Prince George's County police station in Landover in March 2016.

The incident caused officers to fire back shots in return. During the confusing exchange, Officer Jacai Colson, 28, a four-year veteran of the department, was mistakingly shot and killed by another officer. The officer who fired the fatal shot, Taylor Krauss, was not charged.

Ford underwent a mental evaluation before the trial. Ford's attorney, Antoini Jones, said while Ford does suffer from mental illness, he's medicated and more lucid now.

Jones argued that Ford did not necessarily know what he was doing at the time of the shooting since he wasn't medicated and because of this, Jones believes Ford "wasn't criminally responsible."

“We couldn’t disagree more,” said Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks. “We believe, based on the evidence that we have, that Mr. Ford knew exactly what he was doing.”

Read the full WTOP story here.

Investigators believe he was attempting a "suicide by cop" when he fired repeatedly at the Landover center, meaning Ford was trying to commit suicide by getting officers to shoot him.

Ford's brothers, Malik and Elijah, also face various charges including assault and attempted murder. The brothers allegedly drove Ford to the police station and used their cellphones to record the attack so they could post the video online.

See Related:

• Officer's Death: Murder Charge Thrown Out Against 2 Brothers
• Police Bullet Likely Killed Officer During Gunfight; Three Brothers Charged

Prince George's County Police Chief Hank Stawinski denounced the brothers of the suspect for allegedly recording the gun battle rather than trying to warn passers-by or stop their brother, who intended to die in the shootout.

“This was callously recorded and could have been prevented,” Stawinski said.

The two brothers of Ford knew in advance what his plan was, authorities said.

Stawinski said the officers who ran out of the District III station were being fired upon, while Colson was arriving in an unmarked vehicle in the middle of the gunfight. The fallen officer “heroically” stepped out of his car to draw gunfire, which let the other officers gain a better tactical advantage over the shooter and then render first aid.

Colson was dressed in civilian clothes and was not in body armor. “He is not prepared for a firefight,” the chief said.

“This is about nothing, it’s unprovoked,” Stawinski said.

While Michael reportedly had a history of mental health issues, Stawinski is more troubled by the fact that he shot at passing cars, and his brothers did nothing to stop him.

When asked why two brothers would want to record the death of their own brother, Stawinski replied, “It makes no sense. … I’m not certain at the end of this investigation that we’ll be able to explain why.”