[Baltimore Sun] Body camera footage shows Baltimore Police fire 19 shots at armed man who fled from traffic collision
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Three Baltimore Police officers fired 19 shots at an armed man who fled from the scene of a traffic collision in West Baltimore’s Upton neighborhood, body camera footage released Monday shows.
After a foot pursuit, officers surrounded Robert Phillip Nedd as he stood at a hole in a fence near the intersection of Argyle Avenue and Pitcher Street.
Police called for him to show his hands, with one saying, “My gun is pointed at you. Hands up.”
In the video footage captured by the police, Nedd appears to raise his left hand and hold a gun in his right. Officers opened fire moments later, killing him.
The Attorney General’s Office, which is investigating the police shooting, said earlier this month that Nedd displayed a gun before the three officers fired and that a gun was recovered from the scene. Police officials said Monday they do not believe that Nedd fired the weapon, but he was prohibited from possessing it due to his criminal history. The firearm recovered from the scene contained 15 rounds.
The fatal police shooting is the third by Baltimore Police so far this year. In all three, the person killed was armed with a firearm during the exchange with police. In only one instance did the person exchange gunfire with police before being shot to death.
The video footage released Monday adds greater detail to the police interaction that preceded Nedd’s killing. One angle, captured by security cameras, shows a Kia cross the double yellow lines and strike a parked vehicle on the opposite side of the road. A nearby sergeant then approaches the vehicle and has the Kia driver, Nedd, sit on the curb.
“You OK?” the sergeant can be heard saying. “Here, have a seat. Have a seat right here. Sit on the curb. I just want you to relax.”
Nedd appears to sit for a few moments, as the sergeant relays information on his radio. Nedd then takes off on foot, prompting the sergeant to pursue to a wooded vacant lot. No firearm can be seen during this initial encounter.
In a news conference on Monday, Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said Nedd was not suspected of anything “other than being in a car accident.”
“But when someone runs from the police, that usually means they [do] not want to talk to police. As we found out, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm and he had one on his person,” Worley said.
Deputy Commissioner Brian Nadeau, who oversees the department’s compliance and public integrity bueraus, added that because the car “for no reason” crossed to the other side of the street and struck a vehicle, it would be the officer’s “responsibility” to make sure the driver is safe and check whether they need medical attention.
“You can see, as the officer comes up, we don’t know if he’s injured. The first thing the officer does is ask him if he’s OK. He’s been involved in a pretty bad accident. We have to make sure physically he’s OK. And then he takes off running, we don’t know why he’s running. He could be injured for whatever reason,” Worley said. “We’re pursuing to see why he’s running, for his safety, as well.”
The day after Nedd was killed by police, the remnants of police tape still were visible in the vacant lot where he was shot. The lot borders Pennsylvania Avenue, near the Shake and Bake Family Fun Center, a rolling rink and bowling alley. Lelisca Johnson, a resident in the area, told The Baltimore Sun earlier this month she’d heard gunshots the night before.
“I don’t really feel unsafe,” she said, “I just stay aware.”
Johnson added that the ditch in the lot had recently been a spot where people would use drugs, but that recently, city workers have cut the grass regularly.
Worley said Monday that officers were in the area Oct. 9 doing “proactive enforcement” to address community concerns about drug dealing and guns. He said the day before the fatal police shooting, officers arrested a man with a handgun in the 1500 block of Argyle Avenue.
“While we are still in the early phase of this investigation, I want to reiterate that we are committed to ensuring a thorough investigation into the incident, along with the Attorney General’s Office,” Worley said.
The Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office previously identified the officers who fired their weapons as Sergeant Thomas Gross, Officer Tyler Douglas and Officer James Klein III. Gross has been with the department for 10 years, Douglas for two and Klein for one, according to a news release.
This article will be updated.
Reporter Cassidy Jensen contributed to this article.
Have a news tip? Contact Darcy Costello at dcostello@baltsun.com, 443-788-5157 and x.com/dctello.
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