By Tavon N. Thomasson
Special to the AFRO
tthomasson@afro.com
At a Feb. 28 press conference, the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) released body-worn camera footage tied to the fatal police-involved shooting of 37-year-old Dwight Hawkins.
In the roughly six-minute clip, BPD officers Arthur Fuog, Omar Rodriguez and Devon Yancy are seen entering a store in the 3600 block of Belair Road about 6:15 p.m. on Feb. 24, where they spot Hawkins and begin following him outside.
BPD Commissioner Richard Worley said during the conference that the officers were not dispatched to the liquor store and were in the vicinity “working crime suppression,” citing ongoing “violence and drug activity” in the area.
As the video continues, Hawkins is seen running as Fuog, Rodriguez and Yancy pursue him, shouting repeated commands for him to stop and show his hands. He is then seen pulling out a handgun while moving closer to Fuog, before Fuog and Rodriguez fired their service weapons, wounding him.
The last moments shown in the recording depict both officers handcuffing Hawkins and securing a handgun. The video then cuts off. According to a press release from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, the officers provided emergency medical aid until emergency medical services (EMS) arrived and Hawkins was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
“The officers are doing exactly what we want them to do. They’re going in there trying to get guns off the street,” Worley said at the conference. “Clearly, they were drawn to this individual, [and] they were extremely correct. He had a handgun.”
He continued, “Had he dropped the gun and just surrendered to the officers we wouldn’t be having this press conference. Unfortunately, he decided to run.”
This is not the first police-involved shooting involving officers Rodriguez and Yancy. Both were also involved in a June 17, 2025, incident that resulted in the death of well-known arabber Bilal Abdullah Jr.
Fuog and Rodriguez, who fired their weapons, remain on administrative leave. Yancy, who did not fire his weapon, is also on leave as the Maryland Attorney General’s Office investigation continues.