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ESSEX, Md. (AP) — The Latest on a passenger who was shot by a Baltimore Police officer in Essex early Thursday morning (all times local):
5 p.m.
Baltimore County police say a gun was recovered from a car after the passenger was shot by an officer.
The shooting occurred about 2 a.m. Thursday on Old Eastern Avenue and Harrison Avenue in Essex, a suburb 10 miles outside Baltimore.
Police spokesman Cpl. John Wachter said the officer stopped the vehicle for suspected narcotics activity. Wachter said the passenger exited the car and interacted with the officer, then turned his body and reached for his waistband — an action the officer said made him fear for his life.
Although police initially reported that no weapon was found, Wachter says a handgun was recovered from the car during a search of the vehicle after the incident and the driver is in custody but has not been charged with a crime. Wachter said police and county prosecutors are reviewing surveillance footage of the incident.
Wachter said the man remains at an area hospital.
12 p.m.
Baltimore County Police say an officer shot a passenger who exited a vehicle during a traffic stop and moved suddenly for his waistband area.
Police spokesman Cpl. John Wachter says the officer stopped the vehicle for suspected narcotics activity about 2 a.m. Thursday in Essex. Wachter says the passenger exited and interacted with the officer, then reached for his waistband and turned.
Wachter says the officer feared for his life and shot the passenger.
Wachter says the passenger was taken to a hospital but didn't give his condition.
Wachter says no weapon was found, but suspected narcotics were. The officer's on administrative leave during an investigation.
The incident comes amid a national debate over police treatment of black people, but Wachter says in this case the officer and the passenger are white. Their names weren't released.
Wachter says the department doesn't use dashboard cameras and will begin deploying body cameras in July.
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