An armed carjacking suspect was fatally struck by a Baltimore County Police (BCP) patrol car as he tried to escape from officers.
Baltimore County police identified a 20-year-old from West Baltimore as the man struck and killed by a county police cruiser following a carjacking and chase Sunday.
Dion Lamar Taylor, of the 3200 block of W. Rogers Ave. in the Pimlico Good Neighbors neighborhood, was hit by a police cruiser after he and two other people bailed out of a stolen car during the pursuit, according to police.
Taylor was struck as the suspects fled on Highgate Drive, not far from his home. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
“From what we can tell at this point, there’s nothing that shows that this officer intentionally struck the suspect,” BCP Corporal Shawn Vinson told WBAL.
But the suspect’s mother, Teisha Cook, said her son was not to blame for what occurred.
“He was not a criminal, my son was a homebody…[The police] crashed into him and then ran him over,” Cook said.
“The whole time, I’m trying to find my son, not knowing that he was underneath the car, and I’m running around looking for him, and I couldn’t find them, and I’m calling in, and I’m texting him, and there was no response. My son was running through the street up here, police came this way, and one came that way crashed into them and then ran him over.”
The incident began just before 4 p.m. when 20-year-old Dion Taylor, 16-year-old Taron Kelly, and an unnamed third suspect carjacked a pizza delivery driver on Merle Drive in Woodlawn, police said.
A short while later, officers spotted the stolen vehicle at the intersection of Liberty Road and Essex Road, but the driver refused to stop.
During the vehicle pursuit that ensued, the suspects tossed a handgun out of the window, which was ultimately recovered by police.
As the vehicle approached the intersection of Liberty Road and Northern Parkway, the three suspects bailed out of the moving car and took off on foot.
One BCP vehicle struck the stolen car, and an officer in a second patrol vehicle began chasing the suspects. As Taylor turned down Highgate Drive, he and the BCP vehicle collided.
Taylor died from his injuries at the scene.
BCP administrators said that the officer did not intentionally strike Taylor with the patrol car and that the officers followed department protocol throughout the incident, according to WBAL.
They said there is also additional information that cannot be released yet due to the ongoing investigation. Police are also reviewing bodycam footage from the incident, The Baltimore Sun reported.
The officer has been placed on administrative leave, as per protocol, according to WBAL. Kelly has been charged as an adult for offenses of minor in possession of a handgun, possession of a handgun, motor vehicle theft, armed robbery, and armed carjacking.
He is being held without bond. The third suspect remains at large.
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