Biker friends of the veteran Baltimore police officer fatally shot by another police officer early Thursday say the last words out of Norman Stamp?s mouth defined the man they knew:
“His last words were: ?I?m a cop,? ” said Paul Treash, the sergeant-at-arms at the Chosen Sons motorcycle club, which Stamp founded in 1969.
Stamp, 65, was shot to death while off-duty shortly after midnight when police say he pulled a handgun during a fight outside the Haven Place club in the 500 block of N. Haven Street.
Stamp, the third longest-serving officer on the force, was celebrating his 44th year as a Baltimore police officer.
“He was a class guy,” said Baltimore police union president Paul Blair. “He knew how to have a good time off duty and how to get the job done when he was working. I know that Norm Stamp would have never pulled a gun out on a cop. Anybody to suggest he would pull a gun on a cop didn?t know Norm Stamp.”
Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld said officers responded shortly after midnight to reports of a fight at a strip club.
Police Officer John Torres tried to stop customers from leaving the bar while the fight was ongoing in the parking lot, police said.
Torres confronted Stamp when he left wearing brass knuckles, and used a Taser to knock him to the ground, where Bealefeld said Stamp drew his handgun, and Torres fired back.
“Norman said, ?l?ll go talk to the cops,” Treash said. “He walked out the door. A minute later, shots rang out. It was just that fast. He just walked out the door and ?boom.? ”
A visibly shaken Bealefeld said he could not adequately describe how deeply Stamp?s death was affecting fellow officers.
“It is beyond words,” he said. “… Officer Stamp was a mentor to some and a friend to many. This is an incredibly difficult time.”
Blair said the on-duty officers did everything by the book.
“Stamp was always a peacemaker,” Treash said. “I think they overreacted. If he did wear brass knuckles, how is he going to grab his gun? We?ve been up all night here. Nobody can grasp the fact that Norman is dead.”
