Armed man critically wounded after fight, chase ends with police shooting in Baltimore
An armed man was shot and injured by police after officers responded to a fight in West Baltimore that led to a foot chase Thursday afternoon.
Officers were alerted to a fight around noon in the area of Wilson Street and Pennsylvania Avenue involving at least three people, officials said.
Police were able to see the fight through CCTV cameras, and told patrol officers that one of the people involved had a knife, Police Commissioner Richard Worley said.
Officers attempted to stop the man, who took off running, prompting a foot chase, according to Worley. The suspect is described by police as a 35-year-old man.
After the chase, the suspect resisted and struggled with officers over a satchel he was holding, according to Worley. During the incident, one of the officers tased the man, which had no effect.
The man was able to grab the taser from the officer as the officer took the satchel. As the man had the taser in his possession, an officer fired one shot, hitting him, Worley said.
Officers immediately began rendering aid until the man was taken to a hospital. As of Friday afternoon, police said the main remains hospitalized in stable condition.
According to Worley, a handgun was found in the satchel, and a knife was recovered from the man.
Worley said the man was known to officers, as they recovered two handguns from him in the same area last year. Police say he will be charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest.
According to the police union, no officers were injured.
Video shows moments before shooting
Cellphone video obtained by CBS News Baltimore shows multiple officers attempting to stop the man in an altercation. According to police, the suspect resisted and struggled with officers over a satchel he was holding.
Police said the man grabbed a taser from the officer, then the officer fired one shot, striking the suspect.
The video shows a crowd of people gathering around them.
Neighbors at the scene said the officer didn't need to fire his weapon.
"They saying they shot him in his back," Michael Evans said. "How can you shoot a man in his back when he's down?"
Family, community react to the police shooting
Family identified the man who was shot by police as 35-year-old Tavon Newton.
His sister LaShawn Newton said she is hurting and that the family can't see him at the hospital.
"This is my blood brother, so I can't rest," LaShawn Newton said. "My thinking is not even straight, because I don't know what's going on with my brother. So it's hurtful to me, after y'all hurt him, that we can't see him. Only those who can see him are the police, and remind you that the police did this."
Newton added, "So why can't his family see him, talk to him, and see what's going on, even if we could just talk through a glass? They have not let us see him. We didn't, couldn't go upstairs to anything. We could only be downstairs. Nobody is telling us any information, whether he's in surgery, nothing. We don't know anything was going on with him, so it's very hard on me."
LaShawn Newton and other family members questioned why police shot Tavon Newton, saying that he never posed a threat to officers.
"Even if he had a weapon in his bag, which I'm not saying he did or didn't, but if he had one in his bag, he didn't pull it out," LaShawn Newton said. "He wasn't threatening them. He wasn't pointing at them or anything. If he had it on him, he just had it on him. That's still no reason to shoot him in the back while he's lying on the ground."
Ta'Niya, who said she is Tavon Newton's daughter, told WJZ she is overwhelmed with the emotions of sadness and fear.
"I'm mad, and I'm angry, and I'm sad, and I don't know how to feel, and I'm scared," Ta'Niya said. "I feel like from now on, I feel like the police are a threat to everybody's life."
Meanwhile, community members are also on edge and are calling on state leaders for accountability.
"I want the mayor and the state's attorney to do something about that," said Baltimore resident Shawna Scott. "I know there's a lot of stuff wrong happening, but how about taking some accountability for these police officers, and this stuff wrong happening here."
State's Attorney's Office to investigate
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said the police shooting was handed to the State's Attorney's Office for investigation. He said Baltimore City and the police department will "cooperate fully with the investigation and follow internal investigation protocols."
"Whatever the circumstances, any incident like this, traumatizes our community and impacts all of Baltimore," Scott said. "Our hearts are with all of those affected by this incident in every way. With that in mind, I have directed the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) to activate a Coordinated Neighborhood Stabilization Response in the area surrounding the incident."
Pennsylvania Ave returns to normal Friday
Mayor Scott directed the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) to activate its Coordinated Neighborhood Stabilization Response in the area after the shooting.
Neighbors said business returned to normal on Pennsylvania Avenue Friday.
"There's no remorse. There's no sadness," said Johnetta Jackson, who lives around the corner from where the shooting occurred. "It's just like another day, another normal day."
"It doesn't stop nothing," said Victor, who frequents the neighborhood. "It's going to continue to go on."
Victor said he wasn't around when the shooting happened and said things could have gone differently.
"I don't agree with the shooting but at least they didn't shoot to kill. They didn't kill the guy. The outcome could have been a lot worse," he said
Thursday's police shooting comes nearly a year after popular arabber Bilal Abdullah was shot and killed by officers back in June on the same street, just steps away.
"It's just the same thing that keeps repeating itself," Jackson said. "It's a cycle. Until somebody stands ups and do something, if somebody stands up and says something, nothing is going to change."
