State investigators released video Monday that shows the fatal police shooting of a young man with autism outside his apartment in Columbia.
The police body camera footage released by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division shows four police officers drawing their weapons on 25-year-old Alex LaMorie outside Patuxent Commons, a complex dedicated to supporting adults with autism and other disabilities, shortly after midnight on March 1.
Barefoot and wearing a T-shirt and shorts, LaMorie holds a kitchen knife in his right hand in the video.
Howard County Police officers tell LaMorie to “drop the knife” and “can you please drop the knife, we can talk about this.”
LaMorie responds, “I can’t do that, man.”
Minutes before police arrived at the apartment complex, LaMorie called 911 to report he’d been a victim of an extortion scam, county officials previously said.
Officials said at a March news conference that LaMorie told a county dispatcher that he’d exchanged personal information and photographs with someone who claimed to be a young woman. LaMorie then said he received a threat that if he did not pay money, all of his exchanges with the person would be released.
In the body camera footage, an officer tells LaMorie, “It’s really not that bad. I’ve had this call a dozen times.”
“I don’t care, man. I don’t care,” LaMorie responds. “I don’t want to live anymore. I want to be free of my pain, man. I want to be free of my pain. Go ahead.”
LaMorie walks toward the officers with the knife in his hand as an officer shouts, “Please don’t make me do this. Please don’t make me do this.”
“We’re getting cornered,” another officer says.
Officers then open fire, and LaMorie falls to the ground.
Police continue to tell him to drop the knife. LaMorie groans and an officer attempts to handcuff him.
The Independent Investigations Division previously said that three police officers fired at LaMorie when he approached them and did not drop the knife as instructed. The officers responded “to a 911 call from an adult male threatening to hurt himself,” the attorney general’s office previously said in a news release.
Officers attempted lifesaving measures, police said, but LaMorie was declared dead shortly afterward.
Before police found LaMorie outside, the four officers searched his apartment with their weapons drawn, the video footage shows.
They then split into pairs to look for him. Two went to the elevators. The other two, following, exchanged a quick conversation when one asked the other if they had a Taser. The answer was no.
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said in a statement Monday that in the weeks following LaMorie’s death, the county has purchased 200 tasers for police officers to have as an alternative device in “dangerous and unpredictable circumstances.”
“Mental health, neurodiversity, and community trust remain vital priorities in our community,” said Ball, adding that the county will continue to work alongside families, experts and advocates to strengthen training and evaluate existing policies.
The Police Department has a partnership with the nonprofit crisis intervention center Grassroots, which formed a 24-hour mobile crisis team in 2001 to respond to psychiatric emergencies, family crises and traumatic events.
The officers did not reach out to the Grassroots team, county police spokesperson Sherry Llewellyn said previously, adding that the organization is typically contacted for incidents “of a longer duration.”
Roughly 80% of all Howard County Police officers are certified in crisis intervention, which requires 40 hours of training on how to safely and effectively interact with people who have mental health issues and intellectual disabilities, Llewellyn said. The training provides “an advanced level” of behavioral and mental health awareness, trauma-informed policing practices, de-escalation techniques and active listening skills.
Two of the officers who responded to the scene at Patuxent Commons had received that certification, she said, and a third was a specially trained negotiator.
LaMorie’s family said in a March statement that they were “utterly heartbroken,” adding, “we struggle to understand the circumstances surrounding his senseless and callous death.”
LaMorie had recently moved into the autism-inclusive apartment community and had spoken publicly about the challenges that people with autism face when grieving the loss of a loved one.
The attorney general’s office identified three officers involved as Pfc. Joseph Riebau, a 10-year veteran; Officer Cody Bostic, a six-year veteran; and Officer Joel Rodriguez, a two-year veteran. No officers were injured, and police said the three are on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Howard County Police Chief Gregory Der on March 12 expressed his condolences “to Alex’s family, his friends and the entire community grieving together.”
“This tragic sequence of events began with a cruel online scam and ended with the worst kind of loss,” the chief said.
Jill Harrington, LaMorie’s mother, said in a statement that while she chose to not watch the video footage, it was summarized to her.
“My heart breaks to know that my son was in stated pain and suicidal crisis,” Harrington said. “It is also disturbing to know that in his cry for help, during his darkest hour, the onus to save himself seems to have been placed on him when he was at his most wounded.”
The fatal police shooting came months after elected leaders and advocates gathered to celebrate the 76-unit apartment building’s opening in August.
The $44 million housing project, developed by the Autism Society of Maryland and Mission First Housing Group, was designed to be an inclusive community where residents with disabilities could live independently. The project received more than $5 million in county funds, and 19 units were set aside to be rented to low-income residents with disabilities.
An investigation is ongoing. Those with information are asked to call (410) 576-7070 or email IID@oag.maryland.gov.
This article has been updated with statements from Howard County Executive Calvin Ball and Jill Harrington, LaMorie’s mother.