City officer shoots and kills man outside nightclub

BALTIMORE -
In an update Monday, Baltimore City Police say they have turned over their investigation to the city state’s attorneys office on whether or not off duty officer Gahiji Tshamba should be charged with the alleged shooting death of former Marine Tyrone Brown.

The shooting happened outside a bar in Mount Vernon after Tyrone allegedly groped a friend of Tshamba’s. Police say their officer used his department issued gun and fired more than a dozen shots, striking Brown several times.

As police and prosecutors pour over the case of murder versus justified homicide by an officer, it is not the only issue they are considering. ABC2News has learned the police department is also reviewing its policy of when an off duty officer is allowed to carry his or her gun.

According to the Baltimore City Police Department's procedures, off duty city police officers have to carry their department issued handgun if they are in the city...unless the rules state, the officer deems it inappropriate.

"99.9 percent of the officers in this city are heroes. They do this every day and they get it. We ask cops to use good judgment," said department spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi.

Judgment without specific guidelines. Nowhere in the department's general orders does it have handgun restrictions while intoxicated, or even in a bar. Both of which may have been factors in Officer Tshamba allegedly shooting and killing former Marine Tyrone Brown.

While the Baltimore City Police Department can rely on the normally very good judgment of its men and women in uniform, what happened in Mount Vernon this weekend is a prime example why some say their rules and regulations on when to carry a firearm are entirely too open to interpretation.

"What departments usually need are bright line rules. Something that kind of eliminates the grey area," said University of Baltimore Law Professor Byron Warnken.

Warnken believes the city department's regulations as they stand are too vague.

"I have to decide when I'm crossing that line [if I am an officer]. It just gives way too much discretion, way too inexact and we wind up with situations like this," said Warnken.

Law enforcement experts agree.

Reached by phone Andrew Scott of AJS consulting says most large departments including Miami and Boston have strict rules saying off duty officers cannot carry their weapon if they are drinking.

A move in light of this weekend, Baltimore is now considering.

"We're reviewing the documentation to make sure that we conform with reality and other agencies,” said Guglielmi. The commissioner wants a review. He wants to see what other agencies do and he wants to make sure we're in line with them."

A review we're told, started today.