BALTIMORE —A Baltimore Police officer is being charged with attempted murder after a video circulating online appeared to show him driving off a roadway after a suspect fled on foot, CBS News reported.
Robert A. Banks was indicted on charges of second-degree attempted murder, first- and second- degree assault, reckless driving and misconduct, according to the report.
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The Oct. 28 incident began when Parks asked a group of people to disperse. Many individuals appeared to comply. The officer went back to his vehicle before driving forward to speak with one person.
He called the person by name, but the person ignored him and walked away. Parks then radioed in that an individual was fleeing in the alleyway. He drove after the person in his vehicle, allegedly striking the person as they continued to flee.
The charges allege that the officer continued to pursue the person with his vehicle on a sidewalk and through a backyard before the person climbed over a fence. The incident was captured on a bystander’s video.
@cbsnews A Baltimore police officer has been suspended after a video showed him driving aggressively and nearly running over a person with his cruiser in West Baltimore. The video shows a person running away, and the officer following through a grassy field and in the Park Heights neighborhood, before crashing his patrol car. It is unclear what led up to the incident or if there were any injuries. The Baltimore Police Department said the officer's bodycam footage is being reviewed and an internal investigation was underway. #baltimore #westbaltimore ♬ original sound - cbsnews
The Baltimore Police Department has launched an internal investigation into the incident.
“The charges brought forward in this indictment reflect the seriousness and dangerous nature of the actions we all witnessed in the viral video of Officer Parks driving his vehicle directly at a civilian while on duty,” State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said while announcing the charges on Nov. 12.
Parks violated two department policies by using his “motor vehicle as a weapon” to hit a civilian, Bates said. The use of force and operation of emergency vehicle policies are “combined to prevent this type of pursuit.”
Parks could face up to 65 years in prison, according to the report. He was suspended without pay on Nov. 11 and turned himself into police on Nov. 12.
