Residents in South Baltimore’s Cherry Hill neighborhood questioned an officer’s shooting of an unarmed woman Thursday morning — even as police said the woman refused to show her hands to the officer.
Around 9:30 a.m., a patrol sergeant responded to a call for an armed person selling drugs on the 1700 block of Cherry Hill Road near bus and light-rail stops, and found a woman who fit a description of the suspect, said Sterling Clifford, a Baltimore police spokesman.
The woman, who is in her early 40s, was carrying several items, including a backpack, and her arms were tucked behind her back, Clifford said.
The officer repeatedly instructed her to show her hands and she refused to comply, Clifford said. The officer felt threatened, drew his weapon and fired a single shot, striking the woman in the torso, according to Clifford.
She was taken to a nearby hospital, where there was no immediate word on her condition.
“She was conscious and talking when she left the scene,” Clifford said.
Police did not recover a weapon from the scene, but they believe the woman had drugs on her, said Officer Troy Harris, a police spokesman.
Clifford said several witnesses were taken to the police department’s homicide unit to be interviewed. He said the officer, whom he did not identify, had yet to give a statement.
At the scene in Cherry Hill, several people in the neighborhood said they believed the shooting was not justified. After the police removed yellow crime-scene tape, a small crowd gathered to inspect the scene, where a bloody piece of gauze marked the location of the shooting.
Kevin Brown, 39, said he was standing across the street from the woman when the officer approached her.
“He said, ‘What you got?’ and she said, ‘I ain’t got nothin,’ ” Brown said. “She started to put her hands in the air, but then she scratched her [butt]. The police pulled out a gun and shot her.”
Brown said he believed the woman’s family should file a lawsuit against the police department.
“I’m going to tell them to call [attorney] Dwight Pettit,” he said.
Officers in Baltimore have shot 17 people this year, killing 12.
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