Baltimore City Police Accountability Board holds emergency meeting after fatal police shooting
Mathew Schumer
The Baltimore Sun
June 20, 2025
The Police Accountability Board for Baltimore City held an emergency meeting Friday evening to address Tuesday’s fatal shooting of Bilal Yusuf-Muhammad Abdullah Jr. by police officers in West Baltimore.
Three officers opened fire on Abdullah Tuesday evening after he shot a handgun at them following a brief pursuit, according to the Baltimore Police Department. One of the officer’s foot was shot, and Abdullah was critically injured by the responsive gunfire and subsequently taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead a few hours later.
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office’s Independent Investigations Division, which is investigating the shooting, identified the officers Friday afternoon as Baltimore Police Department detectives Devin Yancy and Omar Rodriguez with the department’s Group Violence Unit, and patrol officer Ashley Negron, a 7-year veteran of the department.
All three officers have been placed on administrative leave, according to BPD spokesperson Lindsey Eldridge.
Police Accountability Board member Jamal Turner began the board’s meeting sharing with the attendees that the board recently learned that Abdullah was shot more than 20 times. He said the board anticipates that a complaint will be filed regarding the incident in the near future and that BPD will release the officers’ body-worn camera as soon as next week.
In 2024, the Police Accountability Board received 17 complaints from the Upton community, where Abdullah was shot, according to Turner.
“None of the discussion on here is anyone on this board taking a stance or a position of innocence or guilt of anyone,” said board chair Joshua Harris, “but it is incumbent upon us to have the discussion and to look at policies of BPD that are in place, and maybe ones that need to be added.”
Harris said that the board has significant concerns with the department’s practices in interactions with armed individuals, and that “there seems to be an inability” of BPD officers to de-escalate situations with armed suspects.
Member Dr. Doris Minor asked if it is departmental policy for officers to shoot to kill, to which Baltimore City Administrative Charging Committee Vice Chair Ray Kelly clarified that the department’s policy is for officers to identify a threat and neutralize it.
“Usually, the only time they have to actually assess if the threat is neutralized is when he’s down on the ground,” said Kelly.
Kelly also made note of the fact that Freddie Gray was arrested before his death a little over ten years ago, only a couple of blocks away from Pennsylvania Avenue, where Abdullah was shot.