Police shooting of Baltimore teen prompts outrage among residents
BALTIMORE — After police officers shot and killed a fleeing teenager, residents of his southwest Baltimore neighborhood are outraged by what they see as yet another instance of excessive force against a young black man.
Authorities have released few details about Monday night’s shooting, which follows two others which unfolded under similar circumstances last year in Baltimore. All three encounters escalated quickly, starting when officers saw someone on the street and thought they might be armed.
The teen showed “characteristics of an armed individual” and ran away when officers tried to confront him, Baltimore Police Chief Richard Worley said in a news conference later that evening. He said police caught up with the juvenile suspect and a brief struggle ensued. Three officers opened fire when they realized he had a weapon, Worley said.
None of the officers were injured. Officials said a loaded gun was found at the scene.
Bodycam footage of the shooting has not yet been released, and police declined to answer questions about how many times the teen was shot or whether he pointed a gun at officers. They also did not say whether he was shot in the back or whether officers gave a verbal warning before opening fire.
“They didn’t just kill him — that was an overreaction,” said Taavon Bazemore, 55, who lives and works nearby. “Y’all are using a lot of force for no reason. He shouldn’t have a gun, but that doesn’t give you the right to kill him.”
Bazemore, who said his cousin was killed by Baltimore police in 2001, said he believes there is a double standard for law enforcement officers. In this case, he wondered whether they could have used a stun gun or some other less-lethal form of force.
“It’s not right and it’s not fair,” he said. “We’re talking about a child. He’s a child.”
Police shootings have also led to more violence in other cities similar problems In recent years, prosecutors, courts and the public have questioned when an officer should use any means to stop a fleeing suspect.
Authorities have not publicly identified the teen, saying only that he was a minor. The Maryland attorney general’s office, which is charged with investigating deaths in custody, cited minors’ privacy laws in its decision to withhold his name.
Neighbors said he was 17 years old. They said he sometimes picked up work at a nearby grocery store and was a familiar face in the neighborhood.
Relatives set up a makeshift memorial and left handwritten messages on the corner where he died. They used tea lights to spell out his name and decorated a street sign with streamers and balloons.
His mother, Myreshia Macon, visited the memorial late Wednesday afternoon.
She says she is not only dealing with the shock of her son’s death, but also being frustrated that police are withholding key details about what happened just before he was killed.
“I’m just devastated. Broken and upset,” she said. “The same way they’re keeping the audience out of the loop, they’re keeping me out of the loop. I don’t know anything.”
The Baltimore Police Department has implemented a series of reforms in recent years following the 2015 attacks. death of Freddie Gray put the agency in an unwelcome spotlight. Much of the effort has been focused on rebuilding public trust, but residents of the city’s predominantly black communities often complain that little has changed.
Peggy Kallon, who runs a convenience store, said she was devastated by the shooting. While she acknowledged that police officers have a difficult and dangerous job, she questioned their reasoning in the case.
“He was a good boy,” she said. “Seventeen years old and they shot him like that. … I’m speechless.”
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Associated Press photographer Stephanie Scarbrough contributed to this report.