SALISBURY, Md. — The Maryland Attorney General’s Office released body camera footage from a fatal police shooting of a man who refused repeated instructions to surrender to officers and appeared to reach for a gun, Delmarva Now reported.
According to the Independent Investigations Division (IID), the Nov. 2, 2025 incident unfolded when officers from the Salisbury Police Department encountered a suspect outside a residence. He was standing near a vehicle with an object on its hood when officers gave repeated commands for him raise his hands and walk toward them.
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Body camera footage appears to show the man initially raising his hands in compliance with officers’ instructions.
As officers instructed the man to move toward them and keep his hands up, the man insisted that “it isn’t loaded,” asked officers to come and get him. He also requested to call his mom.
The suspect expressed concern for a woman inside the vehicle. That woman got out of the vehicle and was escorted to safety by officers.
After minutes of conversation between officers commanding that the suspect move away from the vehicle and the suspect refusing to do so while apparently attempting to negotiate with them, the man reached toward the object, prompting three officers to open fire.
All three officers are assigned to the department’s Patrol Division and were placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation, according to the report.
After the shooting, officers rendered medical aid until paramedics arrived. The suspect was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A handgun was recovered nearby, according to the IID. No officers were injured.
The investigation into the officer-involved shooting remains ongoing.
