Fredericksburg Officer Resigns After Use of Force Deemed 'Not Appropriate'

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An officer with the Fredericksburg Police Department resigned last week after an internal review found that his use of force during a May 4 traffic stop “was not appropriate,” the department announced Thursday.

Officer Shaun Jurgens fired a Taser and pepper spray at a motorist during the incident near Jefferson Davis Highway (Route 1), according to a department statement. The motorist, David Washington, 34, of Fredericksburg, was hospitalized for his injuries after the traffic stop.

Several charges are pending against Washington, police said, including driving on a revoked or suspended license (third or subsequent offense), reckless driving, hit and run, and hit and run-property damage.

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The incident began at about 5 p.m. on Monday, May 4, when city emergency dispatchers received a call from the driver of a Jeep that had just been struck by a silver Hyundai traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of Route 1. The Hyundai, driven by Washington, had previously run over the median on Route 1 and knocked down a city road sign, the statement said.

The Jeep driver turned around and followed the Hyundai as it continued down Route 1; the two vehicles eventually stopped at the intersection of Cowan Boulevard and Powhatan Street, a quarter-mile west of Route 1 near Hugh Mercer Elementary School.

The Jeep driver remained on the scene, along with another witness, as city police arrived. The first two officers on the scene held Washington at gunpoint and ordered him out of his car, but he did not comply, according to the statement.

Jurgens arrived on the scene a few minutes later. As Washington remained in his vehicle, Jurgens used his Taser on the Hyundai driver to get him to comply with police orders. “One of the Taser prongs apparently did not make a proper connection and the Taser use was ineffective,” the statement said.

Jurgens then used pepper spray on Washington, and he and another officer removed him from the car. Police summoned an ambulance to the scene to treat Washington for the effects of the pepper spray exposure and to remove the Taser prong still attached to his skin, according to the stagement.

The ambulance took Washington to Mary Washington Hospital, “where it was discovered that he was experiencing a medical emergency that had commenced at some point in the preceding hours,” the statement said.

The police did not sat whether Washington’s medical condition had contributed to his alleged erratic driving on Route 1.

In accordance with department policy, command staff reviewed the incident, the statement said. Jurgens resigned from his position on May 14.

“The use of force demonstrated in the incident involving Mr. Washington was not in compliance with department policy or training,” police Capt. Rick Pennock said in the statement. “We take matters such as these very seriously and require that officers at all times exercise appropriate restraint and good judgment in their dealings with citizens.”