On Wednesday, a Baltimore County police officer fatally shot an unarmed teen who police claim was "whipping his hand around" as if he had a gun. The man, identified as Keith Harrison McLeod, 19, according to the Baltimore Sun, reportedly tried to use a forged prescription for a narcotic cough syrup at a Nature Care pharmacy in Reisterstown, Md. Baltimore County police were called and McLeod reportedly ran through the pharmacy parking lot as police gave chase. Police reportedly stopped McLeod in a nearby church parking lot.
According to the New York Daily News, police officials say that the shooting was recorded on surveillance cameras and that footage will confirm their claims that McLeod "aggressively" approached the officer and, after reaching behind his back, began "abruptly whipping his hand around and pointing it toward the officer, as if with a weapon."
Police claim that McLeod refused to comply with several requests made by officers. The Daily News reports that the unidentified officer who shot McLeod is white and has been placed on administrative leave. Footage from the incident has not been released.
"I don't want to take the [the police account] at face value," Tony Fugett, president of the Baltimore County NAACP chapter, told the Sun. "If it vindicates the officer, I'd think they'd want to make it public."
Read more at the Baltimore Sun and the New York Daily News.