In the wee hours of the morning, in the middle of a sweltering heat wave, the fatal shooting of Michael Wudtee, a 38-year-old African American man, garnered little attention.
According to police, Wudtee, 38, was at a gas station in the 4600 block of Liberty Heights in West Baltimore just after midnight on July 1 when two officers passing by in a patrol car allegedly saw him strike a woman who was in the car through a window.
Police said the officer who was driving stopped and at least one of them approached Wudtee, who took off on foot. Police said Wudtee ran several blocks with at least one of the officers chasing him.
After several blocks, there was an altercation between the officer and Wudtee, they said. The officer told investigators that he was struck several times by Wudtee before he drew his department-issued weapon and fired one round, striking Wudtee in the upper torso.
Wudtee was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 1 a.m. Baltimore Police spokesman Anthony J. Gugliemi identified the officer as Paul Hefferman, 37, who has been a member of the department for 13 years. Hefferman, who works patrol out of the Nothwest District, has been placed on routine administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the shooting, Gugliemi said.
The police spokesman said Wudtee’s was Hefferman’s first officer-involved shooting. Wudtee is the seventh person shot by Baltimore police this year. Last year, officers shot 11 people and in 2010, they shot 10, Gugliemi said.
Records show Wudtee, of the of the 8600 block of Greens Lane in the Milford Mills in Baltimore County, had a police record dating back to 1992 including charges related to drugs and violence. Earlier this year, Candace Fisher sued him for failure to pay child support. In October 2011, he was ordered to submit to genetic testing regarding the paternity of a little girl. The child was listed as his daughter in his obituary. He also had a son, the obituary said.
On May 19, police fatally shot Maurice Holloman, 31, of the 3500 block of Elmora Avenue in Belair-Edison after responding to a call requesting help for someone with special needs at a children’s birthday party, according to news accounts.
