The union representing Baltimore police officers is offering a $2,000 reward for help in finding what could be a crucial witness to the shooting Monday that left a city officer dead and another wounded.
William "Mookie" Houston, 20, was one of two men being questioned by officers in the 2300 block of Harford Road when a gunman fatally shot Agent Michael J. Cowdery Jr. in the head. The first man was detained and released Tuesday; Houston ran away as a gunfight erupted.
Police said Houston might know the man charged in the shooting, Howard Tyrone Whitworth, 31, and might be able to help detectives establish a motive.
"We need to know exactly what happened," said Officer Gary McLhinney, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 3, which is offering the reward.
Police officers and friends lined up yesterday at Vaughn C. Greene Funeral Home in the 4900 block of York Road to pay respects to Cowdery, 31, who grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and joined the force four years ago.
Gov. Parris N. Glendening was among the mourners. He met privately with the officer's father, Michael J. Cowdery Sr., a 28-year Philadelphia police veteran.
The younger Cowdery was with three colleagues, two of whom were questioning two men in front of a carryout on Harford Road about 10:10 p.m. He was talking with a woman, police said, when a gunman ran from Cliftview Avenue and pulled a .357 Magnum handgun from his waistband. Without warning, police said, Cowdery was shot in the leg and head.
Officers Tiffany D. Walker and Ronald A. Beverly returned fire as the gunman ran east on Cliftview. During the gunfight, Beverly was wounded in the ankle, and the suspect was hit in the side.
Police have charged Whitworth in a warrant with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. He remains in serious condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, under police guard.
Maj. Robert M. Stanton, commander of the homicide unit, said detectives do not have a clear motive. He said Whitworth, who has been convicted of drug possession three times since 1993, had 40 vials of suspected crack cocaine when he was taken into custody.
Investigators believe that the officers might have interrupted a drug market and that Cowdery, in plainclothes, was mistaken for a rival intruding on the dealers' turf.
Viewing for the officer will continue from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. today. A Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, 5300 N. Charles St.
Street closures
The Baltimore Police Department is warning motorists that several roads will be closed because of the viewing and funeral services for Agent Michael J. Cowdery Jr.
To accommodate the viewing today at Vaughn C. Greene Funeral Home, 4905 York Road, police are closing York Road between Woodbourne Avenue and East Cold Spring Lane from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The Mass of Christian burial tomorrow at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, 5300 North Charles St., will require that Charles Street be closed between Northern Parkway and Homeland Avenue from 7 a.m. to about 1 p.m.
The procession to Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium will travel from the cathedral north on Charles Street, west on Northern Parkway, north on Interstate 83 and east on Padonia Road. The route will be closed from noon to 2 p.m.