The 17-year-old killed Monday by Baltimore police officers was shot 12 times as he fled with a firearm from officers who called for him to “get on the ground” or else “I’m going to shoot you,” police body camera footage shows.
Police said at a Friday news conference about the fatal shooting that three officers opened fire on the teenager, William Gardner, when he pointed a gun in their direction.
Gardner never fired his weapon; the officers fired up to 21 shots, police spokeswoman Lindsey Eldridge said. Eighteen shell casings that match BPD firearms were recovered from the scene.
At Friday’s news conference, Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley declined to say whether he believed the officers had followed police protocol, saying the matter was still under investigation. But he said the officers were chasing someone who was “clearly armed” and that they had first warned him to drop his gun.
“They get up to the individual, they try to take him into custody. They warn him numerous times to drop the weapon,” Worley said. “He doesn’t drop the weapon. He turns and points the weapon towards the officer, the officers open fire.”
The fatal police shooting, Baltimore Police’s second so far in 2024, is under investigation by both the department and the Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division. The three officers who fired at Gardner — identified this week as detectives Thomas Smith, Shariff Kellogg and Devon Lomax — have been placed on administrative leave, the department said.
People who knew Gardner said this week that he was expecting a child to be born soon. An employee of a nearby grocery store said he had worked for a while at a stand selling snowballs in front of it, along West Baltimore Street. Gardner attended the Excel Academy at Francis M. Wood High School in Southwest Baltimore until mid-January, the city school system said.
Earlier this week, a memorial appeared at the location where officers fatally shot Gardner. Big blue numbers that read “17” were attached to a brick wall on North Stricker Street, surrounded by written messages of love.
Worley said Friday that the footage of the police shooting had been shown to Gardner’s family members before it was made public. His family could not be reached immediately for comment.
The start of the police’s interaction with Gardner is not captured on body camera footage. Police say at least one officer saw an indication that Gardner was armed, and he began to walk away, prompting officers to pursue him.
The body camera footage released Friday begins as he is pursued by one officer on foot and two in a vehicle driving alongside him. Gardner, who is running away, appears to have a firearm in his right hand.
Police pointed to a freeze-frame in the footage where they say Gardner pointed that hand toward two officers exiting from a vehicle. The video shows that, almost simultaneously, three officers fired at him.
According to Deputy Commissioner Brian Nadeau, who oversees the department’s Public Integrity Bureau that investigates misconduct, the police officers were in the area following up on a report of a victimless shooting about one hour earlier. The officers saw a group gathered on the sidewalk, which included Gardner, and stopped to engage, Nadeau said.
Worley said in the press conference that he “didn’t know” whether the group was suspected of involvement in the earlier shooting, saying it was “most likely” a random group. But he noted that it was in an area with recent shootings and robberies.
One officer, who was not one of the three who fired weapons, told police later that he had seen Gardner grab his waistband in what’s known as a “security check,” in order to make sure their weapon hasn’t fallen or moved. When that officer got out of the vehicle and approached Gardner, he turned and began walking away at a fast pace, police said. He began to run when two other officers pulled up in their vehicle. This initial interaction is not on body camera footage.
Another officer, Lomax, got out and pursued Gardner on foot, as Smith and Kellogg followed in the car.
Lomax’s body camera footage shows him chasing Gardner on foot and nearly apprehending him. Police called it a “struggle” and said “within seconds” the officers fired. Lomax’s body camera footage during this foot pursuit doesn’t have audio, so it’s not clear what if anything he said to Gardner.
Gardner appears to stumble and pause, then falls to the ground as officers shoot him.
In the body camera footage from inside Smith and Kellogg’s vehicle, as they drive alongside Lomax and Gardner, they can be heard saying “still holding, still holding,” likely a reference to Gardner holding a firearm.
“Get on the ground, you’re gonna get shot,” they yell out of the car at Gardner. “Get on the ground! I will shoot you, I will shoot you. Get on the ground.”
They don’t immediately get out of the vehicle and drive farther up the road, accelerating to a corner. Smith then stops the vehicle and Kellogg fires at Gardner as he steps out of the car. All three officers fire repeatedly.
The Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division is expected to investigate the shooting and come to a decision about any criminal charges. Baltimore Police, which also is investigating, could take administrative action against the officers for any potential policy violations.
Baltimore Police policy on foot pursuits says that safety should be the “primary consideration” in determining whether to pursue or whether to continue a pursuit. It lays out that officers can pursue on foot only when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that a suspect “has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime … and when members reasonably believe that there is a valid law enforcement need to detain the suspect that outweighs the threat to safety posed by pursuit.”
The Independent Investigations Division also is investigating a fatal Baltimore Police shooting from May. That shootout, with Anthony Ferguson, 39, in South Baltimore’s Fairfield Area, began when police confronted him about an incident four days prior where, police said, he fired a gun. Body camera footage showed Ferguson eventually pull a handgun from his waistband and exchange gunfire with officers.
One detective was wounded in the shootout, shot in a bulletproof vest, but survived. Ferguson died at the hospital. Five officers were put on administrative leave in connection with the investigation.
In 2023, Baltimore Police shot and killed two people. Darryl Gamble, 40, was killed by officers in June. Hunter Jessup, 27, was killed by officers in November. None of the police officers in those shootings were criminally charged.
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