Fredericksburg police officer shot, killed

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Published: June 8, 2008

FREDERICKSBURG — A Fredericksburg policeman was killed while searching for an armed suspect in Fredericksburg on Friday night.

Todd Allen Bahr, 40, died of a single gunshot wound to the head, according to Natatia Bledsoe, public information officer for the Fredericksburg Police Department.

On Friday night, an officer responded to the 2300 block of Cowan Blvd at 8:30 pm for a female
resident reporting that her ex-boyfriend had been threatening her over the phone.

Gregory Berryman, 47, whose last known address was in Stafford, had a history of prior violence with the female. The officer assisted the woman with information regarding obtaining an emergency protective order, but a protective order was not issued when she attempted to obtain it.

At 10:50 pm, officers responded to the apartment for reports that Berryman was outside brandishing a handgun. When the residents called 911, Berryman left the scene in a blue pickup.

At approximately 11 p.m., an officer located Berryman sitting in his vehicle at the Park N Shop shopping center. When officers ordered him out of the vehicle, Berryman sped away with the officers following in a brief pursuit into a parking lot at Belmont Apartments off Cowan Blvd.

According to the Fredericksburg Police Department, Berryman jumped out of the vehicle firing shots and fled on foot into the apartment complex.

Bahr had been looking for the suspect in the 2500 block of Manor Court at the apartment complex when the fatal shooting occurred. It was just after 11 p.m.

Fredericksburg Police Chief David Nye said that the department’s thoughts and prayers go out to Bahr’s family.

“The men and women of the Fredericksburg Police Department are shocked and saddened by the loss of Officer Bahr. This is a very tight knit department and we will never forget him…” he said.

At 11:05 pm, officers searching for Berryman heard gunshots. Within moments, one
Fredericksburg officer and two Fredericksburg sheriff’s deputies encountered Berryman in a parking area and exchanged gunfire with him after the suspect shot several times at a police patrol vehicle.

Berryman was struck more than once by police gunfire before he shot himself in the head, according to the police department. Berryman was killed.

The investigation continues with the assistance of the Virginia State Police and the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office.

Bahr had been an officer with the Fredericksburg Police Department since 2006.

— Tracy Bell from press release