A Montgomery County cop shot
himself to death after leading a state trooper on a high-speed chase on the
Eastern Shore early Monday, state police said.
Jed R. Bylsma, 30, of
Gettysburg, Pa., was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Bylsma was observed on
radar speeding on westbound U.S. 50 in Talbot County about 1:30 a.m., police
said. A state trooper pulled him over near Skipton Creek.
Bylsma showed the
trooper a Pennsylvania driver's license and said he was an officer with the
Montgomery County Police Department, police said. The trooper "observed
signs indicating the driver was operating under the influence" and called
for backup.
Bylsma drove off from
the stop and continued on eastbound U.S. 50 "at a high rate of
speed," police said. The trooper pursued, and another trooper laid
"stop sticks" on U.S. 50 at Airport Road to puncture the tires of
Bylsma's car.
The vehicle struck the
device, which deflated several tires, and rolled to a stop on the shoulder of
eastbound U.S. 50, police said.
The two troopers gave
repeated orders for Bylsma to exit the vehicle, police said. When he did not,
they approached and found him unresponsive. They saw what appeared to be a
gunshot wound to his head and a handgun near his hand in the center console of
the car.
WUSA-TV reported that
Bylsma had been an officer in the Montgomery County department since 2003 and
was assigned most recently to patrol in the Silver Spring area. Police told the
Washington station that he had been on administrative leave for about a year.
Bylsma's body was taken
to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy, police
said. State police contacted Montgomery County Police. The incident remains under
investigation.
