Gunfight Kills Off-Duty Officer, Youth; Teenager Tried to Rob D.C. Sergeant, Police Say
An off-duty D.C. police officer was shot to death early yesterday in a gunfight with a 16-year-old boy who tried to rob him in Prince George's County, authorities said. The youth, who officials said had run away from a group home, also was killed.</br></br>Sgt. Clifton Rife II, 34, was flown by helicopter to Prince George's Hospital Center shortly after the 4:10 a.m. shooting in the 5400 block of Livingston Terrace in Oxon Hill. He was pronounced dead a short time later. Police said the youth, Jonathan M. Washington, was dead when officers arrived at the scene.</br></br>Authorities said Rife, a 13-year member of the D.C. force, went to the Riverview Terrace apartments and was walking toward a friend's apartment when Washington, wearing a mask and carrying a pistol, said he was robbing him. They said it was unclear whether Rife said anything in response. The two exchanged gunfire, with Rife using his service revolver. Rife was shot in the chest and the youth was hit several times in the upper body, authorities said.</br></br>"[Rife] managed to tell his friend that he had been shot, and help was called," said Officer Debbie Sabel, a police spokeswoman.</br></br>Washington, who lived with at least one relative at Riverview Terrace, had a juvenile arrest record, said police sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because court records concerning minors are not public. The sources said Washington was charged this year with possession of heroin and was confined to a group home in the District. They said that he ran away from the home in January and that a warrant for his arrest was issued.