wjz-13 1057-the-fan 1300logo2_67x35
WJZ Celebrates 2013 Graduates: Upload & View Photos Of Your Graduation

Local

Baltimore Police Academy Gets New Leader After Trainee’s Accidental Shooting

View Comments
Rosewood Lane
Derek Valcourt 370x278

Reporting Derek Valcourt

Popular Entertainment Photo Galleries

Guinness World RecordsGuinness World Records

Best Celebrity Baby BumpsBest Celebrity Baby Bumps

The Biggest Nerds In Pop CultureThe Biggest Nerds In Pop Culture

Celeb Hotties With Great LipsCeleb Hotties With Great Lips

Stars With Tax ProblemsStars With Tax Problems

» More Photo Galleries

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — There’s a new hand at the helm of Baltimore’s embattled police academy. He started Monday with a comprehensive review of policies following the accidental shooting of a trainee by an academy instructor.

Derek Valcourt has more on the changes there and the latest on the health of the injured officer.

Amazingly, that officer is already out of the hospital. What happened to him sparked a massive investigation and major changes at the academy.

This kind of police cadet training–hands on, using training weapons–is temporarily on hold. Cadets are now confined to the classroom as state police audit the city’s police academy procedures after an apparent accidental shooting two weeks ago. That’s when sources tell WJZ one of the academy instructors mistakenly fired his real gun instead of a simulation gun at a trainee’s head during a training exercise at the site of the old Rosewood Psychiatric Hospital.

“This weapon that we carry on our hip, they are not toys,” said Police Commissioner Anthony Batts.

An angered city police commissioner immediately appointed a new police academy commander and ordered a massive internal investigation into what he called ” a major procedural breakdown.”

“We will peel back that onion with the goal of never, ever having a situation like that happen here again,” said Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez.

But late last week, the newly appointed academy commander, Major Joe Smith, announced he’s leaving the department to accept an outside job.

“I have 25 years experience,” Smith said.

Instead, effective Monday, Lt. Col. Ross Buzzuro will lead the academy. Until now, he had been in charge of special operations units like the SWAT teams and police helicopters. His first order of business: a complete review of all police academy procedures.

“My goal is to make sure the academy is the safest environment for our officers and really bringing it to the national forefront to making it an elite and premier academy,” Buzzuro said.

But for now, it will likely be several weeks before cadets can resume training with firearms.

As for that injured trainee, he’s been moved from the hospital to rehab. We’re told the bullet just grazed his brain, so he’s lucky to be alive.

State police will not comment on the status of their criminal investigation into the shooting.

View Comments
blog comments powered by Disqus
Listen Live!

Follow CBS Baltimore

TV Schedule

Full Program Grid
7:00 PM CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley
7:30 PM Entertainment Tonight
8:00 PM Undercover Boss
9:00 PM Blue Bloods
10:00 PM Blue Bloods
11:00 PM Eyewitness News at 11
11:35 PM Late Show with David Letterman

Poll Of The Day

Select a Live Stream