The Maryland Attorney General’s Office says that the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office has decided not to bring charges against three sheriff’s deputies who shot and killed a Frederick man who had stabbed his parents, killing one of them, in November.
A report released on Wednesday said that three cops from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office shot Aaron Mensah seven times early in the morning of November 29, 2022. Authorities say he was shot by police after they told Mensah to drop a knife he was holding and he started running toward them.
On the spot, Mensah was said to be dead.
The police said that Mensah had stabbed his mother and father earlier that morning in a neighborhood east of Frederick. Jacob Mensah, Mensah’s father, was hurt and died later from his wounds.
The report says that on April 17, the state’s attorney’s office decided not to bring charges.
In an email, a spokesperson for Frederick County State’s Attorney Charlie Smith said that when the office decides not to prosecute, it tells the Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division, the police department, the officers involved, and the victim’s family.
All civilian deaths in which cops were involved are looked into by the Independent Investigations Division. The local state’s attorneys will then decide whether or not to bring charges against the cops.
In the story, interviews with Aaron Mensah’s family show that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and wasn’t taking his medicine.
Mensah’s mother, whose name was blacked out of the report, told investigators that Mensah’s behavior “was noticeably different when he was taking his medication and when he wasn’t.”
Even though Mensah’s family told cops there had never been a physical fight before, one of his relatives said he once owned a shotgun and a bat with wires and nails wrapped around it.
Mensah gave the shotgun to the police in September 2022. He said he no longer wanted it.
The story also said that Mensah and his family had a fight over his medicine. In a conversation with a family member, one family member said that Mensah’s parents would throw him out if he didn’t take his medicine.
There Were Cameras in the House
There were cameras in the house, and one family member was told to lock her door at night because Mensah was “unstable” when he didn’t take his medicine.
Cassy Beottcher, Travis Stely, and Nathan McLeroy, the three officers who fired their guns, were put on paid administrative leave while the Independent Investigations Division looked into what happened. They went back to work on December 8, 2022.
In an interview, Mensah’s mother said that around 12:30 a.m. on November 29, 2022, Mensah called her and told her he had no gas, no money, was hungry, and wanted to come home.
The tweet below verifies the news:
Deputies not charged after fatally shooting man who stabbed parents – Full story: https://t.co/ovSxg1Ndl6 #FrederickMD
— Frederick Scanner (@FredScanner) May 4, 2023
The conversation in the report says that she told Mensah she would let him in if he agreed to take his medicine again.
Even though she didn’t want to let Mensah into the house, his mother said he could come by, the report said. Mensah got into a fight with a family member, whose name was taken out of the report after he got there.
Mensah was on top of the guy when the TV fell over. The report says that when Mensah’s mother tried to help, he started stabbing her. Mensah also stabbed the other person he got into a fight with.
Around 2:10 a.m., Mensah’s sister called the cops to say that her brother was hurting their parents.
Sheriff’s deputies, Frederick police officers, and Maryland State Police all went to 5804 Haller Place, which is in an area between Frederick and New Market south of Old National Pike.
Mensah’s mother was found in the house with stab wounds. She was flown to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center and was later released with “superficial injuries,” according to a press statement from the sheriff’s office.
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The Video was Made Public in December 2022
In December 2022, police body camera video of the event was made public.
Jacob Mensah was found outside the house, lying on the street in front of another house. He had also been stabbed. According to the story, troopers took care of Jacob Mensah’s wounds while calling for a helicopter to take him to the hospital.
Officers, deputies, and troopers later found Mensah in the 5800 block of Zoe Lane, just a few blocks away. One cop shot at Mensah with a beanbag round that would not kill him. The video from Mensah’s body camera showed that as he got closer to the police, he charged at them.
The report said that a cop and a deputy both tried to use their Tasers on Mensah, but only one of them hit him. The report says that Boettcher, Stely, and McLeroy fired their guns almost at the same time, killing Mensah.
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