Baltimore police shooting prompts criticism of specialized gun squads

By LEA SKENE
Associated Press

BALTIMORE (AP) — Two recent police shootings involving the Baltimore Police Department’s specialized units focused on getting illegal guns off the street have raised questions about how the squads are operating. Officials haven’t yet released body camera footage of the shooting Tuesday afternoon that left a man dead after he allegedly pointed a gun at officers. Police approached the man because officers from one of the department’s District Action Teams thought he was armed. Residents of his southwest Baltimore neighborhood say the teams are known in the majority-Black community for harassing residents and escalating otherwise peaceful encounters.