Bodycam Release Sparks Protest Over Baltimore Police Shooting of Dwight Hawkins

Baltimore Police released body-worn camera footage of a Tuesday evening confrontation that left 37-year-old Dwight Hawkins dead in the Belair-Edison neighborhood, and the footage was made public roughly an hour before Hawkins’ family planned a vigil on the 2800 block of Pelham Avenue.

Police say three officers from the Group Violence Unit, Arthur Fuog, Devin Yancy and Omar Rodriguez, approached Hawkins inside Belair Discount Liquors around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, and that Hawkins left the store and fled as officers followed. Video released by the department shows officers telling Hawkins to show his hands as he ran, and police said he reached for or pulled a handgun and refused commands to drop it.

The body-worn footage released by Baltimore Police shows officers Arthur Fuog and Omar Rodriguez firing 17 shots, and the video appears to show the handgun falling near Hawkins as he fell into the street, police said. Baltimore Police also said Hawkins did not fire any shots during the encounter.

Commissioner Richard Worley publicly defended the officers and framed their actions as part of efforts to remove guns from the city’s most violent neighborhoods. "Here's what we do. The men and women, we send them into neighborhoods, the most violent neighborhoods in our city. They go in there to deter crime and to remove criminals from the street. The officers are doing exactly what we want them to do. They're going in there, they're trying to get guns off the street. Clearly they were drawn to this individual. They were extremely correct. He had a handgun," Worley said. Worley added, "I feel bad for the family. They're grieving their loved one that they lost. They've seen the body camera video, and they've seen that he had a handgun in his hand. He refused to drop it numerous times, he's a convicted felon that should not have even had a handgun."

Family members and community activists gathered on Pelham Avenue after the video release to protest and mourn. About a dozen people joined the Hawkins family for a vigil where Lorraine Hawkins held a "Justice for Dwight Hawkins" sign and hugged Darlene Cain, founder of Mothers On The Move; Cain’s son, Dale Graham, was killed by Baltimore City police in 2008. Shana Hawkins criticized the release, saying, "I think they presented what they wanted to present. But they never gave a why." Cousin Chante Fenner led chants and held a sign reading "Criminals wear badges," and told the crowd, "If Omar [Rodriguez] would have been locked up for killing that man in Upton, he [Dwight Hawkins] wouldn’t be dead."

Family members described Hawkins as funny, loving, caring, hardworking and family-oriented, and recalled that he and other relatives grew up near the 2800 block where his late grandmother has lived since 1999. The released footage and Commissioner Worley’s statements have framed the initial official account; autopsy results, ballistics analysis and any investigative findings have not yet been publicly released and will be central to resolving the competing narratives between police and Hawkins’ family.