Maryland AG will not charge officers in Belair-Edison shooting

Maryland prosecutors have declined to charge the Baltimore police officers who shot and killed Dwight Hawkins in Belair-Edison, but the decision does not close the questions that still surround the case. The state’s declination turns on a criminal standard, while the evidence record, including body-worn camera footage and other investigative materials, leaves residents with a narrower but still unsettled issue: what accountability looks like after a fatal police shooting when prosecutors say they cannot prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

The shooting happened about 6:15 p.m. on Feb. 24, 2026, in the 3600 block of Belair Road, when three officers from the Baltimore Police Department’s Group Violence Unit entered a store and saw a man they believed was armed. According to the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, Hawkins, 37, ran after leaving the store, ignored repeated commands to stop and show his hands, then pulled out a handgun while still running and came into close proximity with one of the officers. Two officers fired their service weapons, striking him.

Hawkins was given emergency medical aid at the scene until EMS arrived. He was taken to a nearby hospital and later died. A handgun was recovered near him, and police said he had a lengthy arrest record and was prohibited from owning a gun.

The officers involved were identified as Arthur Fuog, a 6-year veteran, and Omar Rodriguez, a 7-year veteran, both assigned to the Group Violence Unit. After reviewing the incident, the Attorney General’s Office said there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers committed a crime under Maryland law and declined to prosecute them. The final declination report is dated June 4, and the public announcement came June 11.

The Independent Investigations Division said its review relied on forensic and autopsy reports, police radio transmissions, dispatch records, body-worn camera footage, photographs, department policy, and interviews with civilian and law-enforcement witnesses. That record gave prosecutors enough to reconstruct the sequence of events, but not enough to meet the criminal threshold.

For Belair-Edison residents, the larger issue is what remains after the no-charge decision. The Attorney General’s report says it addresses only criminal culpability and does not resolve civil liability or administrative review. That means the shooting can still be examined through other channels, even as the state’s criminal case is closed.

The case has already stirred public reaction. Body-camera video prompted a protest in Northeast Baltimore, and Hawkins’ relatives questioned the police account, saying he had changed his life and was trying to avoid trouble. The Independent Investigations Division, created in 2021 to review police-involved deaths across Maryland, is now the main statewide mechanism for sorting those fatal encounters into what can be prosecuted, what can be disciplined, and what may never be fully answered.