Washington — District of Columbia police arrested a 47-year-old man Friday and charged him with second-degree murder in the death of Metropolitan Police Department Officer Terry Bennett, authorities said.
Bennett, 32, had been hospitalized for more than two weeks after being struck by a vehicle while helping a motorist on Interstate 695 in Southeast D.C. on Dec. 23, died on January 7, 2026 according to an MPD news release.
Officer Bennett was standing outside his marked cruiser around 10:10 p.m. with emergency lights activated when a Volvo SUV traveling at a high rate of speed changed lanes through slow traffic and struck him, police said. The impact also pushed Bennett’s cruiser into a disabled pickup truck. Fellow officers and emergency crews began rendering aid and he was taken to a local hospital
Police identified the driver of the Volvo, Jerrold Lonnell Coates of Northwest Washington, and located him unconscious but breathing just outside his vehicle. Fire and EMS personnel administered naloxone at the scene before transporting him to a hospital; he was later released pending further investigation.
On Friday, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Coates under a D.C. Superior Court warrant. He was charged with Second-Degree Murder While Armed (Vehicle) and is being held without bond pending further proceedings.
Interim Police Chief Jeffery W. Carroll urged residents to keep Bennett’s family and colleagues in their thoughts as the department continues to mourn the loss of one of its own. A GoFundMe to help with Officer Bennet’s son’s education has been set up.
Bennett’s death is recorded as the 127th line-of-duty fatality in MPD’s 164-year history.
