Officer who killed Md. mom amid standoff was involved in prior fatal shooting
TOWSON, Md. -- Police in Baltimore County, Maryland, say an officer who fatally shot a woman after an hours-long standoff was also involved in a shooting in 2007.
In a statement Thursday, the department identified the officer only by his last name, Ruby. The officer has been with the department for 16 years. Police Chief Jim Johnson had previously declined to identify the officer who shot 23-year-old Korryn Gaines, citing threats against the department.
Gaines, who was black, was killed on Aug. 1 after she pointed a shotgun at officers trying to serve an arrest warrant in Randallstown, a Baltimore suburb. Her 5-year-old son was with her and was injured. Her death led to protests affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Baltimore police spokeswoman Elise Armacost said that in 2007, Ruby was one of two officers who shot and killed 24-year-old Adam Benjamin Rothstein after he pointed what turned out to be a pellet gun at the officers. Armacost said officers received a call on Aug. 19 for a suicidal man who’d told the 911 dispatcher that he had guns, knives, pepper spray and a Taser.
When police confronted Rothstein, he said he would start shooting if he didn’t get what he wanted by 3:30 a.m. At the designated time, Rothstein raised a gun and pointed it at the officers, who both fired. The gun turned out to be a BB gun.
A message left for a number listed for Rothstein’s father was not immediately returned.
Armacost said police-involved shootings are investigated by the police department’s homicide division as well as the state’s attorney’s office, which ultimately determines whether to file criminal charges. Armacost said there is also an administrative review for compliance with departmental policies. For the 2007 incident, Armacost said the shooting was determined to be justified.