Baltimore police release bodycam of fatal Caton Avenue shooting

Baltimore police body camera footage released this week shows a crisis call near Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital turning into a fatal exchange of gunfire in southwest Baltimore after officers encountered Louis Jackson on foot and said he opened fire.

The incident began at about 9:12 a.m. on May 14, when officers were sent to the 800 block of South Caton Avenue after multiple 911 calls reported an armed man threatening to kill himself. According to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office Independent Investigations Division, an officer later spotted Jackson in the 3300 block of Wilkens Avenue and reported that Jackson fired a shot.

The video and police account show one officer getting out of his cruiser, issuing commands and trying to create distance. Baltimore police said Jackson kept firing at officers and at responding patrol vehicles, and that one police vehicle was struck during the encounter. Two officers returned fire. Jackson, 46, was hit and later pronounced dead at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital, just across the street from the scene.

What the footage clarifies is how quickly the situation escalated from a reported mental health crisis into a gun battle on a busy stretch of southwest Baltimore. It also confirms the officers’ description that Jackson fired while officers were moving into the area and that a handgun was recovered at the scene. No officers were injured.

The release also sharpens the public record around the officers involved. Baltimore police identified them as Officer Sharod Watson, a 13-year veteran, and Officer Mark Rankine, a 3-year veteran. Both are assigned to the Patrol Division.

Commissioner Richard Worley called the case tragic for Jackson’s family and for the officers. Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Jones said one officer tried to de-escalate the encounter by stopping, getting out of the vehicle, creating distance and giving verbal commands before shots were exchanged.

What remains under review is the full sequence that led from the 911 calls on South Caton Avenue to the shooting on Wilkens Avenue. The Maryland Attorney General’s Office Independent Investigations Division is handling the fatal shooting, and the bodycam release adds another layer to that investigation as residents near Caton Avenue and the hospital corridor wait for a complete accounting of what happened in broad daylight on their block.