State Investigators Release Body Camera Footage From Towson Shooting That Left Officer Shot, Suspect Dead
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Maryland Attorney General's Office on Thursday released body camera footage from a Baltimore County Police shooting in which an officer was shot and the suspect was killed in Towson earlier this month.
Joseph Robert Henry Thompson, 66, was shot and killed by police after he shot at an officer, according to police.
Established in response to 2021 police reforms, the attorney general's Independent Investigations Division is tasked with investigating all civilian deaths at the hands of law enforcement. The division will try to release the footage within 14 days, but sometimes they withhold the video for longer to continue conducting interviews.
Warning: This video contains graphic content that may be disturbing to viewers.
Officers initially responded to a report of "unknown trouble" in the 500 block of Virginia Avenue on June 4 at 8:40 p.m., police said. There, they heard gunshots coming from inside a building.
The video shows police, armed with long guns, knocking on the apartment door of 66-year-old Joseph Robert Henry Thompson, who was suspected in the shooting. In the video, Thompson opened his door armed with a gun and was shown to almost immediately shoot an officer.
Police then shot Thompson multiple times, killing him. A woman was found inside the apartment shot multiple times. She was hospitalized in critical condition.
The Attorney Generals Office released the first initial and last name of the three shooting officers: S. Johnson, a 16-year veteran; C. Klapka, a 4-year veteran; and R. Fitzgerald, a 3 1/2-year veteran.
The officer who was shot was released from the released from the hospital a day after receiving treatment for his injuries.