Body-worn camera footage released Thursday by the Baltimore Police Department shows new details in the Dec. 30 shooting by police of a 36-year-old man who charged at officers with weapons.
The man, who police identified as Russom Gebretsadik, was shot in the leg. Police said officer James Stokes, a 9-year veteran of the department, fired five times and hit Gebretsadik once.
Online court records show Gebretsadik, who is now 37, is charged attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and related charges.
What happened
Around 9:15 a.m., officers who were responding to a different call saw a naked man standing on a corner in the 2000 block of West Pratt Street, police said. Security footage released by police shows the man, naked except for his socks, standing outside on the corner before walking inside a convenience store.
In the footage released by the Police Department, officers are seen walking into a convenience store looking for the man. After a brief search, officers confront the man on a staircase in the back of the building and ask him why he’s naked. The man’s response is not audible in the footage.
The footage shows the man throwing something at the officers, who retreat and call for backup and a ballistic shield.
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The footage shows officers moving through several rooms and climbing another set of stairs. A door can be heard opening, and the officer with the ballistic shield moves to the front of a group of officers. A large knife can be seen from behind the shield. Police said Gebretsadik “emerged from behind a door” and began “advancing” toward the officers.
The officer with the shield, who police identified as Stokes, is either pushed back or falls down a set of stairs and fires his gun five times. The video also shows Gebretsadik throwing a knife at the police officers.
In the footage, Stokes is seen climbing back up the stairs and putting handcuffs on Gebretsadik, who is now fully clothed.
During a press conference after the incident, Police Commissioner Richard Worley said officers applied a tourniquet to Gebretsadik’s leg, “possibly saving his life.”
Worley also said officers saw “devices” in the room Gebretsadik was in, which were investigated by the department’s bomb squad and the Baltimore City Fire Department.
A Baltimore Police Department spokesperson said Thursday that no explosives were recovered from the building, but that police did find several items: A lighter fluid bottle with liquid, a gas can with liquid, an oil jug with liquid, two motors, a lighter, a gas can spout and two circuit boards. Police did not identify the liquid but said they took samples.
Police said Thursday that Gebretsadik was no longer hospitalized and has been transported to Central Booking. He has a trial scheduled for later this month and does not have an attorney listed, according to online court records.
