Questions about Baltimore County’s use of deadly force are coming into question by neighbors in Baltimore County after a man, allegedly experiencing a mental health crisis, was found dead after police fired gunshots at his home on Wednesday.
Video of the barricade shows police shortly after arriving at the scene. Someone shouted, “He has a gun,” before shots from several officers rang out.
The barricade situation prompted by a reported shooting in Dundalk ended early Thursday after more than five hours, police said. Six officers fired their weapons, and a man was killed.
Neighbors identify the man as Robert Adams, adding that he was suffering from a mental health crisis. Police and the Maryland Attorney General’s Office have provided identification.
“As soon as he looked out the window, they didn’t even give him a chance to even say anything,” said Wendy, who is a neighbor across the street.
Neighbors told WJZ they heard two shots fired in the air from his porch roof on Wednesday, followed by a verbal argument. Minutes later, police arrived, and more gunfire cut through the night.
At some point, Adams was seen through the window, armed with a weapon.
“At first, he wasn’t a threat,” Wendy said. “He was just looking down to see who was out. Now I think he was still holding the rifle, but it was not in a position where you would shoot.”
Six officers fired at Adams, who was later pronounced dead. Investigators said two firearms were found inside the home, but neighbors said he never shot at police.
“I was inside, and I heard the gunshots bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, and I thought it was fireworks,” said neighbor Donald Williams, who has lived up the street for more than 50 years.
WJZ caught the moment the SWAT team entered the home, after two hours of a neighborhood-wide shelter in place.
Neighbors said they are concerned about how Baltimore County Police handled this call.
“The mother had a key, and she kept saying, ‘Please, let me in. I can talk to him. I can get him out,” Wendy said. “We need to really look into the mental health before we start getting trigger-happy.”
Response to mental health crisis calls
Dr. Tyrone Powers, a former Maryland State Trooper and former Special Agent in Charge with the FBI, told WJZ officers receive training both in the academy and in-service training to learn how to handle behavioral health and mental health crisis calls.
“Officers do have some training about how to deal with that situation, how they approach how to deescalate the situation,” Powers said. “Despite them being in a mental health crisis, the officers still have a right to defend themselves and to protect others.”
The Maryland Attorney General’s office has taken over this investigation and will now have to decide if the use of deadly force was justified, after all six officers made a split-second decision to fire.
“Was there an immediate situation that required immediate action? Was there an opportunity for the officers to leave the scene and come back at a different time? Was there an opportunity to de-escalate?” Powers said.
Barricade causes neighborhood shelter-in-place
Officers responded to the 2100 block of Larkhall Road for a report of shots fired around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, according to Baltimore County Police.
According to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, a preliminary investigation revealed that officers saw an armed man inside the home standing at a second-floor window. Officers fired their weapons and shot the man.
Investigators said the police department’s tactical team responded to the scene and established a barricade.
About two hours after the shooting, officers entered the home and found the man inside on the first floor with apparent gunshot wounds, according to investigators. He died at the scene.
The Attorney General’s Office said two guns were recovered from inside the home near the window where officers initially observed the man. Nobody else was injured.
The Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division is leading the review of the shooting, including analyzing body warn camera video from the officers. By law, this division handles investigations into fatal police-involved incidents.
The officers who fired their weapons were put on administrative leave, which is standard department policy.