A Henrico County police officer died in the line of duty while responding to a call near Virginia Center Commons.
Police have identified the officer as 26-year-old Andre Booker. They say he was answering a call at a Henrico County shopping center when he was involved in what can only be described as a bizarre accident.
Officer Booker's cruiser was pulled from a Henrico pond nearly 10 hours after it came to rest at the bottom. Around 2:00am, he and other officers were responding to a call of shots being fired in the parking lot of the O'Charley's Restaurant at The Creek at Virginia Center Shopping Center on Route 1. While backing his car up to block the exit, something went wrong. He crashed through a fence and into the frigid waters of the pond.
Several officers jumped in the water to try to retrieve him from his vehicle, but they were unsuccessful. Police and fire officials say the car came to rest under 20 to 25 feet of water.
Officer Booker spent nearly an hour and a half in the flooded, submerged Crown Victoria before dive team members were able to pull him from the chilly waters. He was not breathing and didn't have a heartbeat when he was pulled out. He was later revived for a short time, but would ultimately not survive his injuries.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Police arrested 31-year-old John Stancil. He's charged with firing off a gun in public as well as several other charges. He is not facing any charges in connection with the officer's death.
