HSI Agent Fires Into Philip Brown's Car on Benning Road NE; USAO Declines Prosecution

On the evening of October 17, 2025, Metropolitan Police Department officers patrolling with federal agents tried to stop Philip Brown’s car on Benning Road NE. A Homeland Security Investigations agent fired into the car and Brown was not hit (AP; WJLA). The agent shot three times, according to a D.C. news outlet.

The arrest report. Brown was held for a fleeing charge. The AP read the police report filed in D.C. Superior Court for his case and says it does not mention the shooting; the report says Brown revved the engine and drove toward officers before he rear-ended another vehicle. Brown’s lawyers say an officer testified he was told to leave the shooting out of the report, and MPD declined to comment on that. NBC Washington reports the case was dismissed after the U.S. Attorney’s office told the court the report omitted the agent’s gunfire; the lawyers told AP the judge found insufficient evidence he was fleeing. The court record itself was not located; these are press accounts of it.

Competing accounts. DHS told AP the agent fired defensive shots. Amnesty International says MPD body-camera footage released in April shows Brown does not appear to be fleeing from the officers, and says the shots constitute an unlawful use of lethal force; both are Amnesty’s description and characterization, and the footage was not independently viewed for this entry.

Disposition. MPD’s Force Investigation Team referred its findings to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which declined prosecution (WJLA). A spokesperson told NBC Washington there could be no prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 242 because no one was struck. A shooting by the same agency a month later: 2025-11-13–hsi-agent-fires-at-justin-bryant-nelson-benning-road-dc-chase.