Baltimore Police Training Suspended After Trainee Shot In Exercise
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (WJZ)— A police trainee is in grave condition after being shot in a training exercise by a Baltimore police instructor. Now all police training has been shut down.
Kai Jackson has more on the tragic case still unfolding.
Trauma surgeons say the trainee is in grave condition. As a result, the Baltimore City police department has suspended all training operations.
There was dramatic video from Sky Eye Chopper 13 of a police trainee being loaded into a Medevac helicopter after being shot. It happened at the former Rosewood Mental Health facility in Owings Mills.
Baltimore City police say a candidate in training with the University of Maryland Police was shot in the front of the head by a Baltimore police trainee instructor in what's being called a training accident.
"He is currently in the operating room with our chief of neuro trauma. He is stable but any thoughts or predictions about long-term neurologic outcome at this point are way, way too early," said Dr. Thomas Scalea, Shock Trauma's chief surgeon.
Police say it happened around 2:30 p.m. The chain of events that led to the shooting is unclear. Also unclear is whether it was protocol for a live round to be chambered in a weapon during training exercises.
The victim--who's only described as a man in his 40s--was flown to Shock Trauma downtown.
"Certainly our prayers and support are with our trainee and his family at this very tough time," said University of Maryland Police Chief Antonio Williams.
A somber police commissioner made a stunning announcement following the shooting. Anthony Batts says until an investigation is complete, all city police training operations have been shut down.
"This afternoon, I suspended all police academy operations and training throughout the entire organization until we do an assessment and evaluation for safety," Batts said.
Maryland State Police are leading the investigation because the shooting happened on state property.
