Kendrick Alexander

Deadly force

Plainclothes detective Matthew Simpson shot Kendrick Alexander several times after he allegedly fired at officers in an unmarked police SUV. At about 4:20 p.m., Simpson and officer Duane Hollinshed, both detectives with the department's Anti-Crime Task Force, were on patrol when they said they saw Alexander chasing and shooting at another man. The men ran into a vacant lot along Kingshighway, then turned back toward Minerva Avenue. The officers approached in their SUV and announced their presence. Alexander allegedly began firing at the officers, but missed. Simpson shot Alexander several times from the passenger seat. Alexander was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died. The pistol Alexander allegedly fired at officers had been owned by an officer that had passed away years before, and how his firearm found its way into Alexander's hands wasn't known.