BALTIMORE – Two Baltimore police officers shot a man who backed his SUV into their unmarked car Wednesday, tearing off the door and injuring one of the officers, authorities said.
The officers, part of a cease-fire squad dedicated to taking illegal guns off the streets, were in the area when they spotted "suspicious activity" in a van with three men inside, police department spokesman T.J. Smith said at a news conference.
Smith said he couldn't elaborate on what made the men suspicious, but a gun and an undisclosed amount of drugs were found inside the van. Smith also couldn't say whether the officers shouted any commands before opening fire.
The officers, who were not in uniform but were wearing vests marked "police," started to get out of their car when the suspects' vehicle backed up, Smith said, injuring an officer's leg.
On Wednesday afternoon, the van could be seen in the middle of a residential street in northwest Baltimore, its passenger-side door open and window shattered, presumably from gunshots.
Smith said both officers fired their weapons, and the driver was struck in a neck. He was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries and is expected to be released. Smith said the three men were taken into custody.
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