An off-duty Baltimore police officer was robbed by a man who held her daughter at gunpoint as she was dropping the child off at a West Baltimore day care center Monday morning, police said yesterday.
Authorities publicly disclosed the circumstances of the robbery more than 24 hours after the incident while detectives spent Monday chasing leads.
Agent Donny Moses, a police spokesman, said detectives were seeking the public's help in the incident, which occurred in the Harlem Park neighborhood.
It is the latest serious incident involving an off-duty city police officer as a victim.
On Jan. 9, Officer Troy L. Chesley Sr. was fatally shot by a man in an apparent botched robbery in Northwest Baltimore.
Last month, Officer Momodu Gondo was shot during a robbery attempt outside his North Baltimore home.
In the incident Monday, Moses said, the officer -- whom he declined to name -- got out of her car in the 700 block of N. Carrollton Ave. about 8:30 a.m. and was leading her daughter to her day care provider when a man approached them. The man grabbed the girl, raised her in front of him like a shield and put a gun to her head, Moses said.
The man demanded money from the officer, who was wearing a coat over her uniform, Moses said. When she reached into her pocket, the man may have seen her gun and handcuffs because he appeared surprised, Moses said.
"But he didn't release her daughter until he got the money," Moses said.
He said the man stole $150, pushed the girl back into her mother's arms, and then ran eastbound on West Lanvale Street.
Moses described the robber as a black man with a medium complexion, in his late 30s and about 6 feet 3 inches tall. He had a mustache and wore a red knit hat and brown or tan work overalls.
gus.sentementes@baltsun.com