Police body-worn camera footage of deadly crash involving 17-year-old in NW Baltimore released
BALTIMORE - The body-worn camera police footage from a deadly crash last month that killed a teenager was released to the public by the Independent Investigations Division of the Office of the Attorney General.
In early October, 17-year-old Kweli Murphy Al-Mateen was involved in a multi-car crash at the intersection of Liberty Heights and Grantley Road in Northwest Baltimore.
Al-Mateen was a grade 12 student at New Town High School in Owings Mills, according to Baltimore County Public Schools.
The school's principal, James Martin, informed parents and guardians of New Town High School students of Al-Mateen's untimely death on Oct. 10. The school community was deeply saddened by the tragedy, he said.
"This unexpected and tragic news has been very upsetting for many of our students, staff, and members of the community," Martin said in the letter. "Kweli was a very bright and innovative student, who was supportive of New Town's sporting events. Kweli's presence will be missed in the schoolhouse and in the stands."
The Baltimore Police Department said that two of its officers are being investigated for their potential role in the collision.
But the department is still not saying why they were attempting to investigate the Honda CR-V that Al-Mateen was driving before he collided with other vehicles.
Multiple people were injured during the crash. Some of them were taken to the hospital. But Al-Mateen did not survive his injuries.
A neighbor described the scene to WJZ.
"We couldn't even dial 911 because the police was already here," a resident told WJZ. "I said, 'Wait a minute. How they get here before we can even dial the 911?'"
The Maryland Attorney General's Office has identified those officers involved as Cesar Gonzalez, who has been employed by the Baltimore Police Department for a little more than 10 years, and Cierra Thurmond, who has been an officer for roughly two years.
Both officers were assigned to an operations bureau. They were inside of a marked car and wearing body cameras at the time of the collision.