Baltimore County police said Monday that they rushed to warn New York police — through phone calls, fax and Teletype — about a man who pledged to kill officers in their area, and that no one could have known he would strike so quickly, leaving two officers dead within minutes after a "wanted" flier arrived.
"We were dealing with a deadline we didn't know existed," said Elise Armacost, spokeswoman for Baltimore County police. "We have every indication that our officers and detectives here followed our standard operating procedures."
Baltimore County police released a detailed timeline Monday describing their efforts to track Ismaaiyl Abdula Brinsley, 28, after he shot a former girlfriend, Shaneka Nicole Thompson, 29, in Owings Mills early Saturday. Nine hours later, Brinsley shot and killed New York officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos in what police there describe as an assassination.
The timeline, which now matches New York police officials' descriptions of the communications, shows Baltimore County police faxed a "wanted" flier to New York police about 35 minutes later than Baltimore County police had said a day earlier.
Amid questions about communications between law enforcement agencies, New York Chief of Detectives Robert K. Boyce said at a news conference Monday that both New York and Baltimore County police were diligent in how they handled the case.
"All things were done exactly the way they were supposed to," Boyce said. "We had a document to move on. One minute after that document was faxed, the double homicide occurred. There was no lapse on anybody's part."
Doug Ward, director of the Johns Hopkins University's Division of Public Safety Leadership, said that "in an ideal world," the nation's police departments would be connected through a "central communications system." Even so, Ward said, police were able to get information to New York in this case quickly after learning it.
"There's always room for improvement," Ward said, adding that the time it took Baltimore County police to get the information to New York officers was "actually pretty quick."
"It's a shame it wasn't sooner," he said.
New York Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said Monday that the agency is in the process of a $400 million technology upgrade.
"In terms of timeliness and the current state of the art for advancing information between agencies, we're continuing trying to find better ways to improve that," Bratton said. "We're spending a huge amount of money on technology for this department."
The shootings of Liu and Ramos brought a heightened sense of alert for police departments across the nation, which have been under scrutiny since a Ferguson, Mo., police officer fatally shot unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown and 43-year-old Eric Garner died after a New York police officer put him in a chokehold. Officers were cleared by grand juries in both cases, which launched waves of protests against police brutality and excessive force.
Brinsley cited those deaths in an Instagram message he posted before his deadly rampage, according to police. One post contained the image of a silver handgun and the message, "I'm Putting Wings On Pigs Today. They Take 1 Of Ours ... Let's Take 2 of Theirs #ShootThePolice #RIPErivGardner #RIPMikeBrown This May Be My Final Post."
Detectives from Baltimore County and New York interviewed Thompson, the former girlfriend, Sunday night in her hospital room. She remains in critical condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.
Thompson told police that before shooting her, Brinsley gave no indication that he intended to commit violence against police officers. "He didn't even discuss police. Their altercation was about them," Armacost said.
Armacost said Brinsley did not have a key to Thompson's apartment and gained entrance to the secure building through unknown means. Police said they argued in a "domestic dispute over the status of their relationship."
Brinsley lived in Georgia and dated Thompson for less than a year, according to police. Baltimore County detectives believe he has no other ties to the area, police said.
Armacost said Thompson's family members are declining to be interviewed by the news media.
Thompson was a member of the Air Force Reserves. Master Sgt. Kevin Brody confirmed that Thompson served as an Air Force Reservist in the 440th Medical Squadron, which is based at Pope Army Airfield in Fort Bragg, N.C. Thompson held the rank of staff sergeant and worked as a medical administrator, Brody said.
Eric James, a physical therapist in North Carolina and a major in the squadron, called Thompson a hard worker.
"She was a dedicated troop," he said.
According to the timeline released by Baltimore County police, Brinsley's rampage began at 5:51 a.m. Saturday. Baltimore County police were dispatched to the 10000 block of Mill Run Circle, where they found Thompson on the third floor of the apartment building suffering from a gunshot would to the abdomen.
She identified Brinsley, a former boyfriend, as the attacker. Officers determined he had stolen her cellphone. Police broadcast information about the suspect to local law enforcement.
As Brinsley traveled north by bus, county police tracked the cellphone and warned local authorities, including the JFK barracks of the Maryland State Police, which patrols Interstate 95, about 7:45 a.m. Brinsley continued north through New Jersey and into New York from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., while police tracked the phone.
At 1:30 p.m., Baltimore County detectives learned from Thompson's family and friends that Brinsley had posted overt threats against police on Instagram. The posts, which police quickly located, indicated that the stolen cellphone was in Brooklyn, N.Y. Within 15 minutes, county police prepared a "wanted" flier to be distributed in New York.
At 2:10 p.m., a Baltimore County detective from the Violent Crimes Unit called the New York Police Department's 60th Precinct in Brooklyn to advise that a suspect wanted for a shooting that morning might be in New York and had posted online threats against police.
The Baltimore County detective was directed to the 70th Precinct, also in Brooklyn, because the phone most recently had been tracked to that precinct. The Baltimore County detective spoke with a New York officer for about 30 minutes, providing details about the situation. During the phone call, the New York Police Department officer viewed the Instagram posts, which included photos of Brinsley.
Baltimore County police then faxed the "wanted" flier to the precinct fax machine and sent a Teletype to New York police's Real Time Crime Center, a data warehouse. The flier was sent at 2:46 p.m.
Brinsley fatally shot the two officers at 2:48 p.m. He had discarded Thompson's cellphone before the fatal shooting, leaving it several miles from where the two police officers were shot, police said.
He then went to a nearby subway station and shot himself in the head as police closed in.
Baltimore Sun reporter Ian Duncan contributed to this article.
twitter.com/lukebroadwater