WESTOVER, Md. - The officers involved in a fatal police-involved shooting that occurred in April in Somerset County have been cleared following an investigation by the Maryland Attorney General's Office.
The attorney general's office on Wednesday announced the findings of its investigation into the April 25 shooting. According to the report, shortly before noon that day, deputies with the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call from a convenience store in Westover, Md. The caller reported that a man, later identified as William Robert Brink, 24, of Salisbury, Md., had pointed a handgun at him and demanded money before fleeing the area on a bicycle. Shortly thereafter, approximately two miles away, Somerset County Sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Goepfert located Brink. During that encounter, Brink and Goepfert both fired their handguns with Goepfert having fired six shots. Brink then ran toward a nearby field, near the intersection of US 13 and Perry Road.
Additional officers from the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police, and the Princess Anne Police Department responded to the area to assist. When officers located Brink, he fired his handgun again, shooting himself in the chin. Brink initially fell but stood back up several seconds later. Somerset County Sheriff's Deputy First Class Anthony Jackson and Maryland State Police Cpl. Jason Dykes then discharged their firearms, and Brink was struck twice.
Brink was taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead. No one else was injured.
The attorney general's office's Independent Investigations Division concluded its investigation on Aug. 2 and forwarded its investigative report to the Somerset County State’s Attorney’s Office the following day. The Somerset County State’s Attorney’s Office notified the IID on Aug. 12 of its decision not to prosecute the case.
A copy of the investigative report can be found here.