Four Norfolk police officers were left with one option when they were fired upon by a man they sought to arrest in June 2022 — to meet deadly force with deadly force, according to Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi.
Fatehi announced Friday he would not bring criminal charges against any of the officers who shot and killed Antonio “A.J.” Beekman as they sought to take the 41-year-old truck driver into custody.
“The officers got the signal to come in, they drove in, they began to get out of their car and began to get shot at,” said Fatehi, who made the determination after reviewing a Virginia State Police investigation.
Beekman was wanted in Virginia Beach for a May 30, 2022, shooting in which a 7-Eleven clerk was wounded, according to documents provided by Fatehi during a Friday news conference.
The Norfolk Police Department was notified of Beekman’s presence in the Larchmont neighborhood by the Virginia Beach Police Department Warrant-Fugitive Unit. He was considered armed and dangerous. Virginia Beach police previously sought to arrest him at his work and were working with Norfolk police to arrest Beekman and serve a search warrant on his home for evidence in the shooting, according to the prosecutor.
Just before 5 a.m. June 21, the Norfolk police special operations team rolled up on Beekman, whose car had been spotted earlier that morning outside his apartment on the 5500 block of Monroe Place. Though the blue lights on the officers’ SUV were not on, they were wearing vests bearing the words “Police,” Fatehi said.
At Friday’s news conference, Fatehi played body camera footage from all four officers on scene that recorded the shooting, occasionally pausing to identify Beekman.
The video showed Beekman walking to his car as officers approached in their SUV. The sun had not yet risen, but the streetlights were on. Beekman was carrying a Sig Sauer P226 Elite pistol, according to Fatehi, though it could not clearly be seen in the video. As officers began to exit their vehicle, one wasn’t even able to fully repeat the phrase “Let me see your hands” before Beekman opened fire, according to body camera footage. The officers returned fire.
“This was a very rapid situation that broke bad very quickly and broke bad at the crucial point where Mr. Beekman elected to open fire,” Fatehi said.
The four officers — Brian Conn, Leroy Lewis, Joshua Jeffcoat and Vincent Tocco — were placed on administrative leave while the investigation was underway. Fatehi said he notified the police department earlier Friday no charges would be filed against the officers. He spoke with Beekman’s family Friday morning.
“The fault in this case lies with Mr. Beekman,” Fatehi said.
Beekman, who fired at least eight shots, was struck 21 times, including seven on the front or side of his body. Beekman also fired at officers from behind his back as he made his way back to his apartment, body camera footage showed.
Once Beekman was down, his pistol was still in hand, which means officers still treated him as a threat and continued to fire, Fatehi said.
“This could have gone differently had Mr. Beekman not drawn a gun and not fired,” he said.
Fatehi said ballistics evidence showed the 9mm pistol used by Beekman to fire at the Norfolk officers was the same gun used in the shooting that wounded the convenience store clerk.
He said if Beekman had survived, the Norfolk man would’ve faced multiple charges related to the shooting as well as for the Virginia Beach shooting.
None of the officers was struck by gunfire, but a bullet did hit the passenger side front door of the SUV that Lewis was exiting, Fatehi said.
Bill Tiernan/The Virginian-Pilot
Norfolk police officers shot and killed a man in an exchange of gunfire Tuesday morning in the Larchmont section of the city. They were attempting to arrest the man on outstanding warrants.
The investigation has been difficult for the families of the officers and of Beekman, the prosecutor said.
“These officers did the best they could,” Fatehi said. “They made the kinds of difficult decisions that we ask officers to make so that the rest of don’t have to.”
Ian Munro, 757-447-4097, [email protected], @iamIanMunro
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