A Baltimore police officer feared for her life when she shot a suspect during a struggle in Northwest Baltimore, police said Friday.
Police commanders said they believe the officer's actions Thursday were justified. The suspect was shot in the abdomen and was recovering Friday after surgery, police said.
"When we pull the trigger, that is the last option," said Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez.
It was the second time in a month that a Baltimore officer shot a suspect. The other incident occurred Dec. 28 in East Baltimore.
Police said officers encountered the suspect about 9:05 p.m. Thursday after they saw a van with its headlights off in the 4400 block of Reisterstown Road. Police tried to pull the van over, but it fled and then crashed near a senior center in the 4300 block of Pimlico Road.
Police said the driver and two occupants jumped out of the vehicle and ran. A group of officers gave chase, and a juvenile was arrested without a struggle.
Another officer caught up to a suspect, who began to resist arrest, Rodriguez said.
"We have reason to believe the man turned on the officer," he said.
The officer felt overpowered and had no choice but to shoot the man, Rodriguez said. The suspect was described as 6 feet, 2 inches tall, weighing 235 pounds.
The man, who was shot once in the abdomen, escaped before police found him wounded on the porch of a vacant home on Loyola Northway.
Rodriguez said the man was a "documented dangerous individual" with a "violent past."
"An officer is allowed as a last resort to defend themselves, their partner or the community," he said.
The van's third occupant was arrested after a "minor" struggle, Rodriguez said. Police say he was struck with a Taser. No officers were injured.
The names of the three suspects were not released because they haven't been charged, police said Friday. The name of the officer won't be released for 48 hours, as is Baltimore police policy. She was placed on paid leave while the department's Force Investigation Team reviews the shooting.
Part of the incident was captured on a CitiWatch surveillance camera, police said.
Baltimore police last shot a suspect Dec. 28 in East Baltimore. Officers responded to the 3000 block of Monument St., where they said Michael John Johansen, 45, was burglarizing a corner store. Johansen came out of the store holding something "shiny," police said. When he did not obey police commands, an officer shot him once in the upper torso.
Police did not say at the time whether Johansen had a weapon and said this month they could not comment further on the case because it was being reviewed by prosecutors.
Johansen survived after surgery. Court records show he faces multiple charges of burglary and failure to obey a law enforcement officer. No weapons charges were listed in the court records.
The Police Department also recently posted documents online detailing another officer-involved shooting on Jan. 13, 2014, in which an officer shot a suspect who had already shot himself in the head.
The report obscures the names of the officers and civilians involved, but the agency previously identified the officer who fired the shot as Detective Warren Benn and the victim as Perry Webb, 24.
The incident unfolded in the 1800 block of E. Lanvale St. as two officers from the Special Enforcement Section pulled over a vehicle after watching someone climb into the car who appeared to be concealing an object, police said.
After Benn placed one of the passengers in handcuffs, another officer said he saw Webb in the car holding a gun. According to the investigative report, the officer yelled "gun," took out his service weapon and took cover.
Police say Webb discharged the gun once, and Benn fired at Webb, striking him in his side.
When other officers arrived, they said Webb had gunshot wounds to his side and head, and was still holding the gun in his hand. An autopsy determined he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
The second man in the vehicle, identified in court records as 26-year-old Adam Williams, told detectives that he believed Webb had a weapon because he was "seeking revenge for the death of his cousin," according to the report. A backpack found in the car had an additional handgun inside, police said.
Williams was convicted of a handgun violation and sentenced to one year in jail.
The report posted on the Baltimore Police Department's website says a "Use of Force review board" found the shooting adhered to policy because of an imminent threat. They also found that the traffic stop was conducted properly. After the shooting, Benn completed a training program and "was able to display his ability to perform within the scope of departmental use of force policies," the report says.
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