BALTIMORE — Tuesday afternoon, police will release body-worn camera footage showing the shooting of a 17-year-old boy by a Baltimore city police officer.
Friends and family of Mekhi Franklin are looking for answers from the police as to why the teen was shot.
It was last Thursday afternoon when police were called to McHenry Street and South Catherine Street for reports of someone believed to be armed with a gun.
At a press conference last week, Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Worley used the unusual phrase that “the teen displayed characteristics of an armed individual.”
Worley said as officers approached the suspect, he began to run.
Officers chased him through several alleys until they ended up at Frederick Avenue and South Catherine Street, near Frederick Elementary School.
Police said as officers turned the corner, they saw a gun in the teen's right hand and ordered him to drop it several times. Worley said an officer shot the teen after he refused to drop the weapon.
The deputy commissioner said officer fired more than one shot during the incident, but haven't said exactly how many shots.
Police also haven't clarified whether the teen was shot in the back as he was running.
Worley said one other officer also was chasing the teen but was too far behind to witness the shooting.
The officer involved is now on administrative leave as the investigation continues.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions the body-worn camera footage may answer for his loved ones, but Mekhi’s family claim he did not point a gun at anyone.
Mekhi’s mother Kieria Franklin said "this is crazy that this is happening to me and my family and it’s not like he got gunned down in the streets he got gunned down by some body that’s supposed to save you, Baltimore city police”
“This is heartbreaking. This is my only boy he’s a good boy and he’s not a bad kid he has a baby and is a new father,” Franklin said.
Baltimore police will release that footage at 2 o'clock Tuesday afternoon.
