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On Thursday, May 11, police say that Det. Cedric Elleby and his partner approached two teens at approximately 1:30 p.m. stopping to talk with one, later identified as 17-year-old Mekhi Franklin, though as he walked away, the officer spotted a bulge in the teen’s waistband, according to officials.
The officers proceeded to follow the two, and at one point, the teen began running away, taking the detective on a foot chase after shoving him away.
During the pursuit, the teen pulled out a gun, at which point Elleby intensified his chase, shouting at him to “Stop! Stop! Put the gun down!’ though he did not comply and Elleby fired at least two shots at him, striking him.
The teen then dropped the gun near an empty alley while Elleby rendered first aid until paramedics and backup could arrive to what was an empty scene that rapidly filled up.
Once his partner arrived at the scene of the shooting, Elleby’s partner took over treatment and Elleby had to begin crowd control as a large group of angry, unruly passersby began to shout curses and slurs at them after realizing it was a shooting though no further incident was reported.
Once backup arrived, investigators recovered a Smith & Wesson 9mm gun with an extended clip and packaged marijuana.
“We understand there is a high level of scrutiny in any use of force involving our officers, and we do not take that scrutiny lightly,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said. “We don’t have all the answers today, because we’re less than a week into the investigation - but we are committed to be through and transparent.”
Harrison made note that the Shipley Hill neighborhood is a “micro zone” due to it being a “historically violent area.”
In the past 28 days, there have been more than 150 calls to service to the Baltimore Police Department in that neighborhood, including drug claims, multiple armed people and disorderly suspects.
“This is a focused area to provide greater visibility and better response times with the goal of deterring and preventing violent crime in the historically violent area.”
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