At 4:42 a.m. on this day a year ago [Friday, March 12], a Montgomery County SWAT team arrived outside of the bedroom where 21-year-old Duncan Lemp slept next to his pregnant girlfriend in his parents’ house in Potomac, Maryland. While other SWAT team members set off flash-bang grenades as part of the no-knock raid, one officer stepped forward with a fireman’s pike tool, smashed in the bedroom window, and pulled back the curtains. Another police officer stepped forward with a rifle and, moments later, shot Lemp five times.
Or at least that was the most recent version of the story of Lemp’s killing put forward by Montgomery County police in a report released on New Year’s Eve. However, back in March 2020, a few days after Lemp’s death, the county offered a totally different version, claiming that police entered the Lemp home, announced themselves as police, and encountered Lemp, who refused to “show his hands.” That version said nothing about the bedroom window or the a
Death of Maryland man shows continued out-of-control nature of SWAT, no-knock raids
When police officers shattered his window and used a battering ram to enter his home, Duncan Lemp s worst fears had come true.
James Bovard
Opinion columnist
One of the most positive developments from last year s political strife was a stronger focus on police abuses and no-knock raids. Some states and cities have imposed new restrictions, others are working toward greater transparency when it comes to police shootings. Unfortunately, Maryland, a state that has wrestled with some of the most egregious SWAT and no-knock cases in the country, remains mired in controversy.
FILE – This 2019 photo shows Duncan Lemp in Venice, Italy. Maryland prosecutors aren’t charging any police officers in the shooting death of Duncan Lemp, whose family says he was sleeping in his bed next to his girlfriend when police opened fire. Family attorney Rene Sandler told The Associated Press that Howard County State’s Attorney Rich Gibson Jr. informed the parents and girlfriend of 21-year-old Duncan Lemp of the decision Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020. (Mercedes Lemp via AP) AP/Mercedes Lemp FILE – Matt Lemp, left, and his wife Mercedes Lemp pose for The Associated Press in their home, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, in Frederick, Md. Maryland prosecutors aren’t charging any police officers in the shooting death of Duncan Lemp, whose family says he was sleeping in his bed next to his girlfriend when police opened fire. Family attorney Rene Sandler told The Ass
Michael Kunzelman
FILE - Matt Lemp, left, and his wife Mercedes Lemp pose for The Associated Press in their home, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, in Frederick, Md. Maryland prosecutors aren t charging any police officers in the shooting death of Duncan Lemp, whose family says he was sleeping in his bed next to his girlfriend when police opened fire. Family attorney Rene Sandler told The Associated Press that Howard County Stateâs Attorney Rich Gibson Jr. informed the parents and girlfriend of 21-year-old Duncan Lemp of the decision Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) December 31, 2020 - 1:11 PM
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland prosecutors on Thursday ruled out criminal charges against a police officer who fatally shot a man during a tactical team s predawn, no-knock raid on his family s home, a killing that galvanized a loose network of anti-government extremists this year.
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