Baltimore County police on Friday identified a man fatally shot by an officer in Reisterstown, a suburban area outside Baltimore.
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Baltimore County police shot Keith Harrison McLeod, three times after he reportedly pointed his finger as if it were a gun at a police officer.
Police have not identified either individual, but said the officer is white and the man was black.
The police shooting took place in a community of about 25 miles north-west of the Baltimore, where protests erupted earlier this year following the death of Freddie Gray, 25, while in police custody.
McLeod was being chased by police for trying to obtain cough syrup with a fake prescription, according to Maryland police.
The man fled across Main St. from the Reisterstown Village shopping center’s Nature Care Pharmacy, police said.
According to the police statement, after the young man fell to the ground, he continued “reaching into his waistband as if for a weapon”, refusing to comply with orders from the officer. The video has not been released by officials.
According to the release, the man ran away and an officer pursued him on foot.
The incident was recorded on surveillance footage from a nearby business. “If it vindicates the officer, I’d think they’d want to make it public”.
“We’re not releasing the video at this time because it’s evidence in an ongoing homicide investigation”, Armacost said on Friday.
Police have confirmed that McLeod was shot three times.
Witnesses told police that they heard the officer repeatedly tell McLeod to “stop”.
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The officer is on routine administrative leave. Police said he has been with the department since 2005 and this is the first shooting in which he has been involved.
