Body camera footage released
Balto. Co. cops shot armed man at gas station in January
Body camera video released Friday shows police officers fatally shoot a man who had a gun at a Pikesville gas station in January.
The video — released by the Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, which investigates police shootings — includes footage from the body cameras of three officers who fired on 29-year-old Sha-Kim Akil Webley of Windsor Mill.
Webley was later pronounced dead at a hospital. No officers or bystanders were injured in the shooting.
The attorney general’s office is still investigating the incident, it said Friday in a news release. The department did not release the names of the officers who fired on Webley, citing “specific security concerns.”
Typically, footage is released within 20 days of an incident, but the release in Webley’s case was delayed “to allow additional time for the IID to redact information that raises safety concerns and to allow the involved parties to view the video before its release.”
At 11:25 a.m. Jan. 9, officers from the Baltimore County Police Department responded to a 911 call about a domestic disturbance involving a man with a gun at a hotel in the 400 block of Reisterstown Road, police officials said after the incident. Arriving officers learned the gunman had left the location on foot.
The video footage released Friday shows one officer enter a gas station convenience store in the 500 block of Reisterstown Road, and walk toward the back, where a man, later identified as Webley, stood in a hooded sweatshirt.
Seconds later, the man brandished what appeared to be a handgun, and the officer ran out the store’s front door alongside another officer. The officer sheltered behind a parked patrol vehicle and drew a gun.
“Sir, get in your car and leave. Leave,” the officer said to someone at a nearby gas pump. “He has a gun inside the store.”
For about ten minutes, officers watched Webley inside the store through its front windows. Several officers said they could see a gun in his hand. On the footage, one officer can be heard saying that one civilian
remained in the store: a clerk behind the counter.
Then, a muted bang rang out.
“He just fired a shot,” one officer said.
“It sounded like a blank,” another officer said. “He shot it right at the glass, and the glass didn’t break.”
Moments later, the front door of the store swung open, and Webley stepped outside. Officers opened fire immediately, and Webley fell.
As he lie on the ground, officers yelled for Webley to drop the gun, which was still on his person, and place his arms at his side. Webley appeared to move slightly, but did not drop the gun to the ground.
About seven minutes elapsed before several officers approached Webley, led by an officer holding a large ballistic shield. An officer grabbed the gun, and began rendering medical aid, including by affixing a tourniquet to Webley’s leg.
The investigation into Webley’s death will continue for some months before the Independent
Investigations Division issues a report on the shooting. The reports typically take about four to eight months to complete.
After the investigation is complete, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown will decide whether or not to bring charges against any officers involved, per a state law passed last year. Previously, cases were turned over to local state’s attorneys, who made charging decisions.
The investigations division is still evaluating two other cases involving Baltimore County officers, including one that occurred a day after Webley was killed. Craig Cousin, 41, was pronounced dead at a local hospital after he was apprehended by county police officers in Owings Mills.
The division also is still investigating the November fatal shooting of Arnel Redfern by county police officers, according to its website. Police said they believed Redfern shot and killed his wife before exchanging gunfire with police.