HSI Agent Fires at Justin Bryant Nelson's Car During DC Task Force Chase; No One Hit, USAO Declined Charges Against the Agent

On November 13, 2025, members of the DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force, a group of MPD officers and federal partners, tried to pull over a vehicle after a traffic violation at Pennsylvania and Minnesota Avenues SE. The driver, later identified as Justin Bryant Nelson, fled and the task force pursued him (WJLA). An HSI agent fired her weapon; no one was hit and no D.C. police officer fired (MPD, via WJLA).

Competing accounts. DHS told WJLA Nelson intentionally drove into a police cruiser and that the agent fired in fear for her life. a D.C. news outlet reports that, according to court documents, Nelson allegedly threw his car in reverse to get around traffic and hit a police cruiser. Amnesty International describes Nelson as a US citizen and says the shots constitute an unlawful use of lethal force; that is Amnesty’s characterization, not a finding by a court or agency. Nelson faces felony charges of fleeing from police, leaving after a collision, and reckless driving (a D.C. news outlet).

Disposition. MPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau led the investigation, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to evaluate the facts (WJLA). NBC Washington later reported that the office declined charges, with the same reasoning as in the Brown shooting a month earlier (2025-10-17–hsi-agent-shoots-at-philip-brown-benning-road-dc-police-report-omitted-shooting): no one was struck.