Man in behavioral crisis shot by police listed as critical, stable
A man shot by Baltimore police during a behavioral crisis Wednesday is in critical but stable condition as investigators continue to review the events that led him to allegedly pull a gun on officers.
The unnamed man was critically injured around 3:25 a.m. Wednesday after a relative called police to the home in the 5800 block of Falkirk Road in Northeast Baltimore.
The relative led officers to the man, who allegedly pulled a gun on them, prompting them to shoot him “multiple times,” police said.
Police Commissioner Michael Harrison was unsure if the city’s crisis intervention team had been called to respond to the behavioral crisis, he said during a news conference Thursday. Amid nationwide protests against police violence, some advocates say that police budgets should be reallocated to other resources, including alternative responses for behavioral health crises.
“In this case, the person was heavily armed. So it was most appropriate for police handle this one, maybe not all of them, but certainly this one,” Harrison said.
Body camera footage of the incident is under review. When officers searched the man, they found a second gun, Harrison said Wednesday.
It is unclear if police believed the man was armed as they were responding.
Neither officer was injured, and their names also were not released. A person at the home where the shooting occurred declined to comment Wednesday afternoon.
Harrison said the police department is working to reschedule a 40-hour crisis intervention training course for officers in patrol service. The course was postponed following the outbreak of COVID-19.