On Monday night, Baltimore City Police made available body camera footage that captured the sequence of events leading up to the officers shooting and killing a 17-year-old.
The teenage teenager, who is now known as William Gardner, is seen being pursued by an officer down North Stricker Street in the footage. The reason the team was there in the first place was to look into a shooting that had happened an hour earlier.
The agency said that the teenager was part of a group and was standing, grasping his waistline and performing what looked like a “security check.”
“This could be indicative of an individual who has a firearm in their waistband…checking to see that it’s still there, not falling or moving,” Brian Nadeau, BPD Deputy Commissioner stated.
At a Monday press conference, Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley stated that Gardner fled when officers attempted to speak with him.
According to the agency, the adolescent started to flee when an officer got out of a police car to speak with him. One officer went after Gardner as the other two followed him in the car. The teenager was cautioned repeatedly by the officers in the car, who said things like “Get on the ground” and “You’re going to get shot.”
The young person persisted in trying to escape.
Gardner took a revolver from his hip and pointed it at the pursuing policeman as he approached an intersection. Gardner was then shot by police and killed.
Authorities said at a press briefing that up to 21 rounds were fired by cops. As per protocol, the three policemen implicated in the shooting have been assigned to administrative responsibilities.
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The BPD, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Maryland State Police are all investigating the shooting, so it’s still unclear if the cops used excessive force.
A group assembled at the scene of the shooting on Friday, hours after the family had seen the body-worn camera footage. Gardner’s fatherhood was still several weeks away. At six o’clock on Saturday, there will be a vigil for Gardner.
