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Crime

Officials identify Baltimore County Police who fired weapons in fatal shooting of man in Essex

Baltimore Sun
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Investigators from the Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, who are responsible for investigations of police-involved fatalities, were at the scene with Baltimore County police after two Baltimore County police officers fatally shot a man during a domestic disturbance call in the 900 block of Boundbrook Way in Essex.

Investigators from the Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, who are responsible for investigations of police-involved fatalities, were at the scene with Baltimore County police after two Baltimore County police officers fatally shot a man during a domestic disturbance call in the 900 block of Boundbrook Way in Essex. (Amy Davis/Amy Davis)

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office has identified the Baltimore County Police officers who fired weapons in last week’s fatal shooting of a 39-year-old man in Essex.

The office’s Independent Investigations Division said in a news release that the officers were D. Manning and E. Pellegrino, who have 18 and 11 months with the agency, respectively. A county salary database lists police officers named Derrick Manning and Eric Pellegrino.

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The release didn’t specify which of the officers struck Ralph Picarello III, 39, who died on the scene.

The Independent Investigations Division said its review of the incident was ongoing. The division is charged with investigating police-involved fatalities statewide, including fatal shootings, police pursuits and in-custody deaths.

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Information released the day after Picarello’s death by the attorney general’s office stated police were responding to a home on Boundbrook Way for a reported “physical domestic disturbance” involving a man in the home who was throwing things. The release said a man picked up two knives while speaking to officers and did not comply with commands to drop them. He then “moved quickly towards officers with the knives,” the Independent Investigations Division said.

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One officer deployed a Taser, and two fired weapons, striking the man. No officers were injured.

Both Manning and Pellegrino are on administrative leave, police spokeswoman Joy Stewart said Tuesday.

Investigators said there is body camera footage of the shooting. It has not been publicly released, but the division’s protocols call for it to “generally” release footage within 14 days. It notes that situations in which investigators might need more than two weeks could be due to technical delays to prevent identification of civilian witnesses, the need to complete witness interviews or to allow family members to view footage.

A spokesman said Tuesday there was no specific date for release.

The May 4 fatal shooting is the agency’s first this year to be investigated by the Independent Investigations Division. Officers wounded a 19-year-old man in Dundalk last month, but the case was investigated by Baltimore County Police. A grand jury found that the officers were justified in their actions during that April 14 shooting, the Baltimore County state’s attorney said last week.

Shane Radomski was shot “several” times by officers, according to a family attorney, who said the family was focused on his recovery.

The Independent Investigations Division, which began its investigative work on Oct. 1, has completed investigations into two other Baltimore County fatalities — the Oct. 9 pursuit by a Maryland Transportation Authority Police officer that ended in a fatal crash by Jawuan Ginyard and the Oct. 11 fatal police shooting of Jovan Singleton by a Baltimore County Police lieutenant. Prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges against the officers in both cases.

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