A city councilwoman wants police leaders to explain the disciplinary process for officers involved in off-duty incidents, a hearing spurred by concerns over the recent shooting in which an off-duty officer has been charged with first-degree murder.
Councilwoman Belinda K. Conaway, a Democrat whose district includes parts of West and Northwest Baltimore, is requesting a hearing in which she also wants to explore possible changes to policies requiring officers to carry their weapons while off the job, and will request that the commissioner compile a report on the number of incidents over the past five years in which "civilians or officers have been harmed or killed by off-duty officers."
"I think it's incumbent upon the council to find out what the procedures are for dealing with officers involved in off-duty shootings," Conaway said. "With what we saw in the past couple of weeks, we want to find out how the Police Department addresses this issue and how many other officers fall into this category of having off-duty incidents."
Last week, 15-year veteran Gahiji A. Tshamba was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of an East Baltimore man who was shot 12 times at close range outside a Mount Vernon club.
The Baltimore Sun reported that Tshamba had a prior off-duty shooting in 2005 in which he was found to be driving drunk. He was cleared in the shooting, but was not given a citation for drunken driving and was disciplined internally with an eight-day suspension, sources said. Some current and former police officials have privately questioned why Tshamba was allowed to remain on the force, a decision made under former Commissioner Leonard D. Hamm.
In the Mount Vernon shooting, witnesses told police that Tyrone Brown's arms were raised as he was struck, according to sources, but Tshamba's attorney said the officer placed himself on-duty and was responding to a sexual assault.
Conaway's resolution also notes two other recent shootings, a June 4 incident which a city officer shot a man breaking into his Dundalk home and another in Mount Vernon on May 21 in which police say an off-duty detective encountered a man breaking into his vehicle and shot the suspect in the leg.
City officers are required to carry their weapon while off-duty, and police said they were reviewing rules regarding officers' conduct when consuming alcohol. Though officials have stressed that the department does not believe the rules are flawed, Conaway said she is uneasy that there might be armed officers among the patrons at a bar or restaurant.
"I have a real concern about anyone having a gun when they are under the influence of alcohol," Conaway said. "Certainly, an officer that's trained to use it can do a little bit more damage than a regular civilian. If you're in a social setting, do you really need a gun? We should have some level of comfort that people are not armed."
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