Baltimore Police have released the name of the officer involved in the incident that left a police trainee critically wounded Tuesday afternoon.
Officer William S. Kern, 46, was assigned as an instructor in the education and training section in Baltimore Police. A University of Maryland Baltimore Police trainee was shot in the head by an instructor during an exercise at an Owings Mills training facility at the Rosewood Center, which is run by the department.
The University of Maryland Baltimore police trainee, a man in his 40s, was in critical condition Wednesday, and Baltimore Police did not have an update on his condition Thursday afternoon.
Family members asked police not to identify the trainee because they are not from the area and have not yet notified family and friends of the incident, Baltimore Police Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told reporters at a press conference Tuesday night, according to ABC2news.com.
Kern was hired by Baltimore Police Department on Nov. 7, 1994. The department’s internal affairs bureau is investigating the incident in conjunction with the Maryland Police Training Commission, a press release said. The Maryland State Police is also conducting its own separate investigation.
The Baltimore Sun reported that top Baltimore police commanders, including the director of the training academy, did not know training exercises were happening in Owings Mills Tuesday. Law enforcement sources close to the investigation said they think the officer who shot the trainee had his service weapon instead of a weapon that fires simunitions, ink-filled projectiles that break on impact and leave a mark, The Sun reported.
During the press conference Tuesday, Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts did not answer a question from a reporter about why live ammunition was used during the exercise. Det. Angela Carter-Watson, a city police spokeswoman, also declined to answer a question about live ammunition.
The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit is conducting an investigation, which will take weeks, according to a state police press release. The homicide unit conducts criminal investigations into all police shootings that involve Maryland state troopers and allied police departments when requested, the release said.
When the investigation is complete, it will be reviewed by the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office, which will then determine if action will be taken. State Police will not make further public comment as per state policy regarding ongoing criminal investigations, police said.
