Baltimore County Police said the video they released on Friday confirms what their officer said happened Wednesday evening in Reisterstown.
Police Chief Jim Johnson says he made the decision to release the video after speaking with the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office.
According to police, the encounter started at at pharmacy on Main street when 19-year-old McLeod tried to pass off a forged prescription.
The pharmacist called police and when Officer Earomirski, a nine and a half year veteran, responded, he found McLeod in the parking lot. Police said that's when McLeod ignored the officers commands and ran away across the street.
There is no audio on the video but police say witnesses reported hearing Officer Earomirski tell McLeod, 'you don't want to do this'.
They said the McLeod repeatedly threatened the officer's life.
Though no weapon has been found police say what McLeod did next would have any reasonable person assuming he had one.
"He whips his right arm around, directly points his hand at the officer, brings his left hand up as to support the right in a ready gun position. That movement was less than one second. That officer had one second to make a determination as to what to do to save his own life," Chief Johnson said.
Police said the officer fired three shots and the medical examiner determined McLeod was hit three times. The investigation is still underway to determine exactly when these shots were fired.
"That officer has a duty to enforce the rule of law and he did," Chief Johnson said.
The video was taken from one of the cameras at Izzy's Auto Service. The owner said they were closed Wednesday but he said he was open when detectives came back for the video.
Chief Johnson said the footage backs up their decision to bring body cameras to the department.
"We believe that transparency in cases like this where we actually have footage will help citizens understand the incident and the dangers police officers face everyday," he said.
Officer Earomirski has been placed on administrative duties while the investigation continues.
"I look at each and every shooting. We certainly investigate them thoroughly. The incident is reviewed by the State's Attorney Office. It goes through an extensive internal affairs review, shooting review team, we look at our training and policies and practices. We don't just look at the shooting. We look at every shot that's fired," Chief Johnson said.
Police said they have been in touch with McLeod's family's attorney.
