A D.C. police sergeant was charged with assaulting a federal officer and possession of an illegally modified gun after he was accused of crashing into authorities while trying to flee a traffic stop.
Metropolitan Police arrest records said Sgt. Montez Clark, 27, was driving in the 4400 block of Bowen Road Southeast just before 9 p.m. Monday when federal agents patrolling the area noticed the officer’s personal vehicle was missing its front license plate.
Federal agents went to pull over the Chevy Camaro, the report said, and even positioned multiple squad cars around the vehicle to keep the motorist from fleeing. But the Camaro driver rammed into one of the federal vehicles to escape and then began speeding down Southern Avenue Southeast.
Authorities said they stopped the Camaro a few blocks away and arrested Sgt. Clark and two passengers, Russell Campbell, 23, and Sakou Yates, 25.
A search of the vehicle turned up two Glock pistols, with one of the handguns modified with a switch that allows the weapon to fire as if it’s fully automatic, according to the arrest report.
Police said neither Mr. Yates or Mr. Campbell, who has a past gun conviction on his record, are licensed to carry weapons.
The gun possession privileges afforded to Sgt. Clark for being an active duty police officer were voided by ramming into the federal vehicles, the report said.
Sgt. Clark, who has been with the Metropolitan Police since July 2019 and works in the Metropolitan Police’s Fifth District, was charged with assaulting a federal police officer, fleeing from law enforcement and several gun-related charges.
Both Mr. Yates and Campbell received the same gun charges, with Campbell getting an additional charge for having a gun as an ex-felon.
MPD said Sgt. Clark is on administrative leave as the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau investigates.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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