Officer Was Justified in Shooting Korryn Gaines: Baltimore County State's Attorney

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — The family of Korryn Gaines met with the Baltimore County state's attorney Wednesday afternoon to review whether charges would be filed in the case of the officer who fatally shot the 23-year-old woman in her apartment. State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger said that the officer was justified in the shooting.

Gaines, of the unit block of Sulky Court in Randallstown, barricaded herself inside her residence when officers showed up around 9:01 a.m on Aug. 1 to serve her with an arrest warrant for failing to appear about a traffic violation, Shellenberger said.

She would not open the door, which officers tried to open with a key, according to the report provided by Shellenberger (see the report below); there was a latch inside the door she would not undo. When officers kicked in the door, her fiance, who was also being served with an arrest warrant for assaulting her, came out of the apartment with his 1-year-old daughter and told police that Gaines was mentally ill and had not been taking her medication, the report said. He tried to get his and Gaines' 5-year-old son to come with him out of the apartment, but the boy, Kodi, ran back to his mother, officials said. Meanwhile, Gaines was sitting on the floor of the apartment pointing a shotgun at the officers, who began to treat the situation as a barricade and called in support teams including the hostage negotiation and tactical units.

The hostage negotiators asked that she send Kodi out, and she refused, according to the report, which said family members also attempted to communicate with her voicing the same request.

Gaines said she would come out before 10:30 a.m. if the police put their guns down and backed up from her apartment, according to an account her neighbor provided through her attorneys. When police did not retreat, she told them to leave.

Over the course of several hours, "...there were times when Ms. Gaines spoke calmly and others where she screamed and acted irrationally. She stated that the police were the devils, that they were crazy, that she had been unjustly kidnapped by the police, that the government had kidnapped her fiance, that the police were only at her apartment because she was black, that when she and her son were dead the news would report it and the world would know, and it would be worth it as [long as] she took at least one of the officers with her, that she was absolutely not coming out..." Shellenberger wrote.

The deadly confrontation ended at 3:24 p.m. after police said Gaines pointed a shotgun at a tactical officer and threatened to shoot him. Authorities said there was an exchange of gunfire; Gaines fired two rounds from the shotgun, but did not strike police. Officer Ruby shot her, officials said. Based on a union agreement, police in Baltimore County are identified by last name only.

The family of Gaines is suing the Baltimore County Police Department and Ruby for $2 million each, claiming excessive force, gross negligence, wrongful death and suppression of speech. The family was expected to provide a statement Wednesday afternoon.

Officials said that Ruby, who has served the Baltimore County Police Department for 16 years, was involved in one prior police-involved shooting in August 2007. That incident was also fatal, according to The Baltimore Sun, which reported Ruby and another officer shot at a 24-year-old suicidal man in Parkville who threatened to shoot them with a weapon that later turned out to be a BB gun.

Regarding the shooting of Gaines on Aug. 1 in Randallstown, Shellenberger concluded: "Criminal charges are not warranted."

• Family of Korryn Gaines Files $4M Suit After Fatal Shooting in Baltimore County
• No Charges to Be Filed Against Officer Who Killed Korryn Gaines: Report
• Police ID Officer Who Shot Korryn Gaines
• Boyfriend of Korryn Gaines Facing Drugs and Weapons Charges
• Woman Killed by Police Said They Would Have to 'Murder' Her
• 5-Year-Old Was Injured by Police in Randallstown Standoff: Officials
• Protesters Arrested at Cop Conference in Baltimore

Photo via Shutterstock