After Officer-Involved Shooting, 23-Year-Old Flown to Shock Trauma: Sheriff

A Joppa man was flown to shock trauma Saturday morning after officials say he shot at officers who had been trying to negotiate with him and they fired back.

The 23-year-old, who was not identified, was conscious when he was airlifted to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, said Cristie Kahler, spokeswoman for the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident began when at 2:57 a.m. Saturday, deputies were dispatched to the 3300 block of Clayton Road in Joppa for a drunk and disorderly person, according to a report from the sheriff’s office.

On the way there, the disorderly person’s parents told officials that he may have fired shots from his vehicle, which he had driven into their yard, the report said.

A state trooper from the Bel Air Barrack and deputies from the southern precinct arrived at 3:04 a.m. and as they attempted to speak with the man, he fired at least one shot from his vehicle, the report said.

Officials tried to negotiate with him peacefully and requested the K9 Unit, Special Response Team and Crisis Negotiation Team to assist, according to the report.

After 30 minutes of authorities attempting to defuse the situation, the 23-year-old got out of his vehicle and fired toward the officers, at which point, in fear for their lives, the officers fired back at him, the sheriff’s office reported.

None of the officers was injured, the report said.

The 23-year-old was in critical but stable condition when a Maryland State Police helicopter took him to shock trauma, Kahler said.

A Maryland State Police trooper from the Bel Air Barrack and deputies involved in the shooting are on routine leave pending the outcome of the investigation into the incident, according to the sheriff’s office.