Editor’s note: This article, originally published at 8:51 p.m. on July 31, 2024, was updated at 9:55 a.m. on Aug. 1, 2024, to include a statement from Bishop Jones-Daniel’s mother.
The Maryland Office of the Attorney General released Wednesday the body-worn camera footage of a May 30 fatal police-involved shooting in Fairland that killed 28-year-old Bishop Jones-Daniel.
The incident began at 11:40 p.m. on May 29 when police responded to a call from Jones-Daniel’s brother about a “person in distress” in an apartment on the 3300 block of Hampton Point Drive in Fairland, according to the Maryland Office of the Attorney General. The attorney general’s office stated in a May 30 release that the 911 caller said that “their brother was inside assaulting their mother and was armed with a gun” and had reported hearing gunshots.
The graphic, nearly 32-minute video compiles body-camera footage from Montgomery County police officers who were at the scene, as well as county Officer Edward Cochran–the officer who shot Jones-Daniel, according to the attorney general’s office.
In a statement emailed to MoCo360 Thursday morning, LaTanya Jones, the mother of Jones-Daniel, said the family continues to grieve the loss.
“Bishop was 28 years young and an amazing and loving father, son, and brother who loved his family and is loved by us,” Jones said. “Bishop’s life was taken by the Montgomery County Police Department during a mental health crisis. As we wait for more answers and information, we ask that the public respect our privacy.”
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Jamaul Forrest, a cousin of Jones-Daniel, declined to comment about the footage in a text Wednesday night and said he wished to honor a request by Jones-Daniel’s mother to refrain from giving interviews.
Within the first few minutes of the video, an officer is seen outside apartment buildings speaking to the brother of Jones-Daniel who told one officer he jumped out of an apartment window, but his mother was still inside. The brother handed his cell phone to the officer, who then spoke on the phone with Jones-Daniel’s mother.
At one point, the officer tells Jones-Daniel’s mother that if her son was having a mental health episode it was important for her to leave the home. The mother can be heard on the phone begging Jones-Daniel to go outside without the gun, as the police requested. At another point she can be heard saying “No, no, no, baby. They’re going to kill you and I don’t want that, baby.”
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Officers at the scene heard gunshots inside, so they “declared a hostage barricade and requested SWAT to respond,” the May 30 release stated. Following the call for SWAT officers, police negotiators communicated with Jones-Daniel and talks continued into the overnight hours. At approximately 2:05 a.m. SWAT officers entered the home.
The final footage of the video shows the point of view of Cochran and an unidentified witness officer watching as SWAT officers forcibly enter the apartment. The audio is muted to “protect police tactics” as officers follow Jones-Daniels through the apartment, according to the attorney general’s office. Jones-Daniel ducks into a bedroom, shutting the door. Cochran kicks down a bedroom door and Jones-Daniel and his mother can be seen in a bathroom.
Cochran can be heard yelling “drop it, drop it, drop it” before firing more than a dozen times at Jones-Daniel. His mother can be heard wailing and yelling, “No! Baby! Baby!”
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Six seconds elapsed from the time Cochran kicked the bedroom door open and when he fired the first shot.
Cochran and officers enter the bathroom, one telling Jones-Daniel to “drop the f—ing knife” and “get on your side,” and “get a medic in here.” The video ends as officers drag Jones-Daniel’s bloody and motionless body from the bathroom into the bedroom.
Jones-Daniel was transported to a local hospital, where he died, according to the May 30 release. His mother was also “treated and released at a local hospital,” the release said.
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The shooting is under investigation by the attorney general office’s Independent Investigations Division, which is required to release officers’ body-camera footage within 20 business days after an incident.
On July 1, the attorney general’s office announced the release of the camera footage of the fatal shooting was delayed “due to additional time needed to conduct witness interviews.”
Following the delay, Jones-Daniel’s family, in partnership with the Silver Spring Justice Coalition, demanded the release of the body-camera footage and called into question the county’s crisis response protocols. Relatives say Jones-Daniel was experiencing a mental health crisis before he was fatally shot and alleged that the family’s requests for a mental health practitioner during the incident were not met.
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On June 11, nearly two weeks after the fatal shooting, the investigative division publicly identified Cochran as the officer who shot Jones-Daniel. Cochran has 14 years of experience and is assigned to the police department’s Field Services Bureau, according to the attorney general’s office.
The Silver Spring Justice Coalition also sent a July 3 letter to Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and division Director Allison Green following the announcement that the release of the footage had been delayed. The letter demanded the body-camera footage be released “immediately” and notedCochran was involved in a fatal officer-involved shooting of a manat a Fairland townhouse in 2018.
On July 14, which would have been Jones-Daniel’s 29th birthday, his family and other community members held a vigil at the East County Community Recreation Center in Fairland. Loved ones lit candles, released balloons and made speeches in Jones-Daniel’s honor.
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Forrest (Jones-Daniel’s cousin) told MoCo360 in July that family and friends are doing their best to be there for Jones-Daniel’s mother, brother and children.
At the vigil, loved ones celebrated Jones-Daniel’s life and sought to bring attention to the case, which they and some social justice advocates say raises questions about how police handle mental health crises.
LaTanya Jones, Jones-Daniel’s mother, spoke at the vigil about being “pushed” into the club of mothers of black men killed by police, according to a video of the event.
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“I cannot ask to join this club. I don’t want to be in this club, but here I am. … [There’s] so much I want to say that I probably shouldn’t, but I’m angry and I’m mad,” she said, choking on tears. “They took my baby from me.”
County Councilmember Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5), who represents the district where the shooting occurred, attended the vigil to share her support for Jones-Daniel’s family and stand with those calling for “changes, reforms and justice.”
“Until we have a system that is reflected in the policies and the procedures, and the justice system and outcomes that reflects that level of value of life that is felt in that moment for every single person, including and especially our black men, we do not have a system that works, and we do not have a system that we will accept,” Mink said in the video.
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“We need to be investing in our communities, investing in education, investing in mental health, investing in opportunities, lifting people up,” she added. “And then we need to be responding to crises with love and care and in ways that prevent these outcomes.”
The Independent Investigations Division is continuing to investigate. The attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to MoCo360’s inquiry about the next steps for the investigation and possible timeline if anyone is to be charged in the shooting.
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