A grand jury has declined to indict the Montgomery County police officers involved in the shooting death of Ryan LeRoux on July 16, 2021.
LeRoux was shot in front of the McDonald’s located at 18273 Flower Hill Way in Gaithersburg after an incident that took place in front of the restaurants drive-thru.
According to the initial MCPD press release, “a caller stated that a customer had ordered food and was refusing to pay or move his vehicle from the drive-through lane. A 6th District officer responded to the scene and approached a white Honda CRV parked in the drive-through lane. The 21-year-old male was the sole occupant of the vehicle, located in the driver’s seat.
The officer immediately observed a handgun on the front passenger seat and called for back-up. Additional officers arrived, secured the area and evacuated McDonald’s staff. During the armed standoff, MCP officers attempted to deescalate the situation by negotiating with the driver for approximately thirty minutes. Circumstances that are still under investigation led to officers firing their weapons and the driver was shot.“
Per the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office:
Pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding between Howard and Montgomery Counties, which stipulates that when a fatal, officer-involved use of force occurs in one county, the other county’s State’s Attorney’s Office will prosecute the matter, Howard County has notified Montgomery County that it reached a conclusion in the shooting of Ryan LeRoux, 21, of Gaithersburg.
On July 16th, 2021, there was a police-involved shooting at the McDonald’s located at 18273 Flower Hill Way in Gaithersburg. Four officers with the Montgomery County Police Department discharged their service weapons at LeRoux, striking him multiple times. The officers involved were Officer Brooks Inman, Officer Sara Vaughan, Officer John Cerny, and Corporal Romund Schmuck.
LeRoux died as a result of gunshot wounds sustained during the incident.
An investigation, which took place over the last several months, included four days of presentations before the Grand Jury of Montgomery County. The jurors received a complete overview of the case, including testimony from the lead detective, and reviewed hours of police body camera footage. A “Use of Force” expert was also brought in to testify at the Grand Jury’s request. On March 31st, 2022, the Grand Jury declined to indict the officers involved in the shooting.
>>Attached is a comprehensive summary of the investigation, which will also be published on our website.
-Please note: The State requested and obtained permission from the presiding Grand Jury Judge to include the information that relates to the multiple Grand Jury sessions.
>>Click here to view the compilation of footage from police body worn cameras released by Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones in the days following the incident.
The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office is now in possession of the raw footage from each of the 18 police body worn cameras on scene. The files are large but will be released upon request. Please allow for time to process.
Background Information-
Montgomery and Howard Counties entered into the agreement about the prosecution of police-involved use of force deaths in 2015 following a nationwide recommendation from the Obama Administration. It was formalized with a written Memorandum of Understanding in 2019. The agreement was and remains the first of its kind in Maryland and aims to ensure transparency and unbiased prosecution.
Q-What is a Grand Jury and what does it do? A– Click here for info on the MD Grand Jury process