Racism Frenzy: 3 US Police Officers Shoot Black Man

Local Editor

Baltimore County police officers shot and killed an unarmed black man in Owings Mills while responding to a report of domestic violence at a home they had visited more than a dozen times over the past three years.

Spencer Lee McCain, 41, died about 8 a.m. at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore after being shot by police officers.

Baltimore County Police Chief Jim Johnson said officers believed McCain was armed; however, they did not find a weapon on him.

The incident began as police received a 911 call about a possible domestic disturbance at the condominium in the 3000 block of Hunting Ridge Drive in Owings Mills shortly after 1 a.m., Johnson said.

Furthermore, he said a 10-year-old child who lived at the home called a grandmother, who dialed 911.
Three officers, two of them white, were on the scene, and all fired at McCain in the presence of two children and a woman.

One of the officers said he heard screams for help coming from the home. Three officers, "fearing that someone was in imminent danger of injury or death," forced their way into the home, Johnson said.

After the officers entered the house, they encountered a man in a "defensive position" making movements that led officers to believe he had a gun, he said. All three officers fired at McCain and hit him several times.

Police described the quarrel as "domestic in nature."

Meanwhile, all three officers fired at the man and hit him several times, Johnson said. Nineteen shell casings were found on the floor in the area where the officers shot the man, police said.

Tony Fugett, president of the NAACP's Baltimore County branch, said he was briefed by police on the shooting. Though, police did not release the names of the officers and all three had been placed on administrative duty, Johnson said.

Consequently, Baltimore County homicide detectives are investigating. The case is to be reviewed by the department's shooting review board, the chief and the county state's attorney's office.

"In the hours and days ahead, we'll learn more and in greater detail about what the officers knew, thought and perceived in every moment that transpired," Johnson said.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team