[chris]

A Maryland man who robbed a bank at gunpoint and then tried to flee by holding a teller as a human shield was shot and killed by police in the parking lot after he lost his footing on a patch of ice, authorities said. The Jan. 28, 2011, confrontation at a Capital One branch in Takoma Park lasted roughly 15 minutes and was carried live on national television by news helicopters circling overhead.

Carlos Rudolfo Espinoza Arcia, 43, of Hyattsville, walked into the bank at 1181 University Boulevard East at about 9:22 a.m., set a metallic device trailing wires on the counter and pulled a 9mm handgun, police said. He demanded cash and had strips of Styrofoam taped to his body to resemble explosives. A hoax device was recovered inside the bank afterward.

Takoma Park officers reached the scene within a minute of the first calls for help, followed by Prince George's County and Montgomery County police, according to authorities. Espinoza Arcia held several people inside the branch before coming out with one arm locked around a female employee's neck and moving toward the parking lot.

Ringed by officers, the gunman appeared to slip on the ice, police said. The hostage broke free and a dye pack hidden in the stolen money burst. Six officers, three from Takoma Park and three from Prince George's County, opened fire, and Espinoza Arcia was pronounced dead at the scene.

The teller suffered a scrape to her arm and a Prince George's County officer was grazed in the leg by a ricocheting round, authorities said. A customer who tried to wrestle the gun away was pistol-whipped, and another person inside the bank went into shock. Investigators later determined the handgun was unloaded. Espinoza Arcia was identified after a co-worker told police he had not reported to work in two days.

On March 24, 2011, a Montgomery County grand jury reviewed the shooting and cleared the six officers of any wrongdoing, allowing them to return to duty.

The audio archived with this post is police radio traffic from the response, not a recording of a 911 caller.