Baltimore officer who shot, killed "No Shoot Zone" activist Tyree Moorehead won't be prosecuted after state investigation

BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Police officer who shot and killed Tyree Moorehead, a Black man known for spray painting "no-shoot zones" across the city, will not be prosecuted after an investigative report by the state. 

The Independent Investigations Division of the Office of the Attorney General is tasked with investigating all police-involved fatalities in the state. 

At the conclusion of each independent investigation, the IID prepares a report and transmits it to the local State's Attorney that has jurisdiction to prosecute the matter.

The Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office announced its decision not to prosecute the case last Friday, officials said. 

Officers responded to the incident near the intersection of North Fulton Avenue and West Lafayette Avenue on November 6, 2022, where the responding officer found Moorehead holding a knife, standing near a woman sitting on the ground.

Investigators said despite multiple orders by the officers for Moorehead to get on the ground, Moorehead lunged at the woman and got on top of her. 

That is when 27-year-old officer Zachary Rutherford opened fire, shooting 14 times and striking Moorehead 12 times, according to the investigative report. 

An ambulance took Moorehead to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries.

The woman was not seriously injured in the altercation, police said. According to the report, she told police Moorehead grabbed her and began dragging her into the middle of the street by her purse as she attempted to resist.

The investigative report did not make any recommendations as to whether or not the responding officers should be charged. Read the full report here.