GREENWOOD, Del. - Delaware State Police are investigating an officer-involved shooting in Greenwood on Wednesday.
Police say they arrived on Wheatfield Road in Greenwood on March 11 at about 1:30 p.m. to arrest 60-year-old Jeffrey Mitchem. Mitchem, according to police, was wanted for allegedly threatening online posts, including a picture of himself holding a handgun to a State Police detective along with an image of a coffin. He was also wanted by the Arlington County Police Department in Virginia for felony terroristic threatening.
Mitchem barricaded himself in his camper when troopers arrived and refused to come out, according to authorities. After refusing commands to surrender, police say Mitchem threatened to detonate a large amount of gunpowder. Troopers say they saw Mitchem spreading an apparent powdery substance inside the camper and kept one hand inside when he stepped out of the camper.
Police say a trooper then fired a single shot into Mitchem's arm, and the suspect threw a handgun out of the camper and surrendered. Police treated Mitchem until medical assistance arrived and he was then taken to a nearby hospital for serious injuries, according to DSP.
No troopers were injured during the incident.
A search of Mitchem's camper reportedly revealed a hunting knife though he is barred from possessing a deadly weapon due to a previous conviction, and investigators say the powdery substance Mitchem was reportedly spreading inside was not explosive. The gun he threw on the ground was an airsoft pistol, according to police.
Mitchem remains hospitalized but was turned over to the Delaware Department of Correction on a $43,000 secured bond on the following charges:
-Possession of a Deadly Weapon by a Person Prohibited (Felony)
-Intent Threaten the Life of or Threatens Severe Physical Injury to Public Official or Public Servant (Felony) – 19 counts
-Resisting Arrest
(Delaware State Police)
The trooper involved with the shooting has been placed on administrative leave while a use-of-force investigation is conducted.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call DSP at 302-741-2729.
