MD Attorney General: Investigative Report Released for July 2022 Fatal Officer-Involved Shooting in Gaithersburg

The Independent Investigations Division (IID) of the Office of the Attorney General today released its interim investigative report of the July 20, 2022, fatal officer-involved shooting in Montgomery County.

On July 20, 2022, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy Domenic Mash along with nine other task force officers assigned to the U.S. Marshals Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force were attempting to serve an arrest warrant on Hamed Ghorouni Delcheh in Gaithersburg. The officers located Mr. Delcheh inside a townhome and positioned themselves outside. After several minutes, according to officers, Mr. Delcheh threw a large kitchen knife out of the home’s front window, then jumped out himself and picked up the knife. One officer deployed his Taser, but Mr. Delcheh was able to run up the street past Deputy Mash, who began following him. According to witnesses, Mr. Delcheh then turned toward Deputy Mash with the large kitchen knife raised. Deputy Mash fired at Mr. Delcheh, striking him. Officers provided medical aid until paramedics arrived, but Mr. Delcheh died on scene. A second man was also shot and taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No officers were injured.

The Montgomery County State’s Attorney and the Howard County State’s Attorney have an agreement to review officer-involved civilian fatalities in each other’s jurisdictions. The IID and the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office agreed that an interim report would be useful in this case because all aspects of the investigation were final other than the ballistic analysis to be conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The IID forwarded its interim investigative report to the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office on March 1, 2023. The Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office notified the IID on June 2 of its decision not to prosecute the case. The IID will supplement its report when it receives ballistic analysis from the FBI.

The IID’s interim report contains detailed investigative findings and an analysis of relevant legal issues. Because this incident involved a member of a federal task force, the IID investigated this shooting in coordination with the FBI. However, the FBI had no role in the creation of the IID’s interim report, or the legal analysis contained therein. The IID’s report does not make any recommendations as to whether any individual should or should not be charged because the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office—not the IID—retains prosecution authority in this case. By law, the IID’s reports must remain confidential until any related prosecution is completed or the State’s Attorney’s Office declines to prosecute. A copy of the IID’s interim investigative report can be found here.