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A Fairfax County Police officer on July 7 shot and killed a transgender man who family members say was having a mental health crisis inside the family home where he lived.
The man, identified as Jasper Aaron Lynch, 26, lunged at three officers while wielding a wine bottle as a weapon and refused the officers commands to drop the bottle, according to a statement released by Fairfax Police. Lynch’s parents released their own statement saying the use of deadly force was unnecessary and that the officers should have handled the incident “far differently.”
The police shooting incident and the release by Fairfax Police of body camera footage of the incident was widely reported in the news media.
But the news that Lynch was a transgender man did not surface until Aug. 24, when the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, released a statement disclosing that Lynch was trans and expressed support for his parents’ contention that the shooting was uncalled for.
“Aaron’s death marks the third fatal shooting by the police of a transgender person recorded by HRC since 2020,” the HRC statement says. “Transgender people, especially transgender people of color, are at increased risk of experiencing police brutality, even in the wake of other encountered violence,” the statement says.
In a detailed statement posted on their website, Fairfax Police say police involvement leading to the fatal shooting began shortly after 7 p.m. on July 7 when officers responded to the McLean home where Lynch lived with his parents and sister after receiving a call from a friend. The police statement says the friend said he was concerned for Lynch’s safety because he was throwing objects inside the home and “pacing.”
A police team arrived at the home a short time later that included an officer assigned to the police Crisis Intervention Team and a clinician from the Sharon Bulova Center for Community Health, according to the statement. It says arriving officers were told Lynch left the residence before they arrived and couldn’t be found. The police team left the scene but shortly after police received a second call at about 8:34 p.m. from a friend of Lynch’s saying Lynch had returned to the house and he was again acting erratically. A second police team was then dispatched to the house, the statement says.
“This time, three crisis intervention trained officers arrived at the home and spoke to a family member on the scene,” the statement continues. “The officers found Lynch inside holding a bottle and an object, believed to be a large decorative wooden tribal mask,” the statement says, adding, “The officers attempted to de-escalate the situation with verbal commands inside the foyer of the home.”
The statement continues, “Lynch threw the mask at an officer and began to swing the bottle in striking motion. Two officers attempted to utilize their Electronic Control Weapons,” referring to police tasers, it says. “Lynch ran toward officers while swinging the bottle. One officer discharged his firearm, striking Lynch four times. Officers immediately rendered aid until fire and rescue personnel arrived. Lynch was pronounced deceased at the scene,” it says.
The police statement concludes by saying under department policy, the officers involved have “all been placed on restricted duty pending the outcome of an administrative investigation by our Internal Affairs Bureau. An independent review will also be conducted by the Police Auditor.”
Lynch’s parents, Patrick and Kathy Lynch, declare in their own statement released to the media but that did not disclose that their son was transgender, that Lynch was “experiencing a severe mental health crisis on July 7.”
Their statement adds, “He was scared and asked for both 911 calls that were made that day. We believe that the three police officers who answered the second 911 call could have, and should have, handled this far differently.”
The statement continues, “To respond to Aaron’s mental health crisis by shooting him at all, let alone multiple times, cannot be justified. We recognize that, at times, police officers face grave and unknown dangers in the line of duty, but that was not the case for that call at our home regarding our son.”
A spokesperson for the Fairfax Police couldn’t immediately be reached on Friday to determine the status of the Internal Affairs investigation into the fatal police shooting of Lynch.
A link to the police body worn camera video and audio recording of the shooting and an explanation by police of what prompted the shooting can be accessed here:
