The two officers were interrupting the robbery of a dice game. And they got shot for it.
Baltimore police say wounded officers Karen Brzowsky, 34, and Loretta Francis, 29, were doing exactly what they were supposed to do Monday when a gunman opened fire on their patrol car near Patterson Park, striking each officer once.
“They were doing everything the city is asking of them,” acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld said. “They were dispatched to that block by concerned residents. They answered the call and went there to do something about it. When they got there, they encountered a dangerous person, a violent offender in our city.”
Police arrested Ranard Brown, 26, of the 1600 block of East Biddle Street in Baltimore, and charged him with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault and various weapons charges, police said. Attempted first-degree murder carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Bealefeld said Brown has previously been arrested 14 times. Court documents show that he has been charged with misdemeanor assault, public urination, drug possession, disorderly conduct and a handgun charge, but never convicted of a crime.
Margaret Burns, spokeswoman for Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia Jessamy, said Tuesday that prosecutors had to drop the handgun charge because the police officer in the case did not show up for court.
Officers caught Brown on Baltimore Street on Monday night, pulling him over while the department conducted a widespread search for his license plate number, police said.
Brzowsky and Francis were shot between 6 and 6:30 p.m. as they encountered a robbery of an ongoing dice game, Bealefeld said. Several gunshots rang out, striking the right side of their car.
Francis was struck in the abdomen, and Brzowsky, who was driving the car, was hit in the arm.
Francis was treated and released from the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center on Monday night. Brzowsky is “doing well; she?s resting,” said Sterling Clifford, a police department spokesman.
Police recovered the gun used in the shooting outside “very near the crime scene” on Monday, Bealefeld said, who added that the gun had been reported stolen in Virginia.
The commissioner credited residents for leading police to Brown.
“The local residents stepped up and did their part,” Bealefeld said.
Mayor Sheila Dixon called the officers “two brave individuals” and also thanked residents for turning the police investigation in Brown?s direction.
“Citizens are recognizing that this is a partnership,” she said.
Baltimore has experienced 182 homicides and 428 shootings this year. Homicides are up 19 percent and shootings 36 percent over the same period last year.
Bealefeld said officers have seized more than 2,000 guns from the streets this year, compared with about 1,800 at this time last year.
