Baltimore City Police Commissioner Issues Statement About Trainee Shooting

The Baltimore City Police Commissioner has suspended some training academy staff after a campus police trainee was shot in the head by an instructor on Tuesday.

Commissioner Anthony Batts also says that several leaders in the BPD's academy have been suspended, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Batts released the following statement:

"I promised to provide you with an update of the training accident yesterday that has left a University of Maryland Police candidate in critical condition at Shock Trauma.

First off, I'm asking you to please keep this officer candidate, whose family has asked that his name not be made public, and his loved ones in your prayers.  He is part of the larger law enforcement family in Maryland – and this is a tragedy that reaches across all agencies.

Second, our Professional Standards & Accountability Bureau is conducting an over-arching assessment of the incident. They have two goals: determine why this happened, and how we can prevent this type of tragic incident from ever happening again. The Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commission has agreed to conduct a full examination of this event as well.

Third, the criminal investigation is being conducted by Maryland State Police, as the location of the incident is in their jurisdiction.  We have been fully cooperative with their investigation, and they are providing us with what is legally allowed in order to conduct our internal analysis.

Fourth, the Academy has been closed for the remainder of the week. Six members of BPD Academy chain of command have had their police powers suspended pending further investigation.  Counseling, through PCA and our Critical Incident Stress Team has been provided and will continue to be available to everyone involved.

Finally, I want to thank those who were and are part of our response team to this incident. You have acted professionally and carried out your duties with great compassion and diligence.  We must do everything we can to learn from this horrible event and be as transparent and forthcoming as possible – we owe those involved in this tragedy nothing less."