Latest news with #BPD
CBS News
2 days ago
- CBS News
AG identifies officers involved in fatal shooting of well-known Baltimore arabber
The Independent Investigations Division (IID) of the Maryland State Attorney General's Office (AG) has released the names of the officers and the man involved in Tuesday night's fatal shooting in Baltimore City's Upton neighborhood. Officials confirmed that Bilal "BJ" Yusuf-Muhammad Abdullah Jr., 36, was the man shot and killed by Baltimore City police on Tuesday, June 17, just before 7:30 pm. The State Attorney General's Office said the Baltimore City Department (BPD) officers involved in the shooting have been identified as: Detective Devin Yancy, an 8-year veteran of the department; Detective Omar Rodriguez, a 6-year veteran of the department, both assigned to the Group Violence Unit; and Officer Ashely Negron, a 7-year veteran of the department. Abdullah allegedly shot a veteran police officer in the foot, according to a preliminary report from the AG's Office. Both the officer and Abdullah were taken to the shock trauma. However, Abdullah, who was shot in the exchange of gunfire with police, was pronounced dead at the hospital. The officer shot, underwent surgery, and is now recovering, according to authorities. Attorney General's preliminary report The preliminary investigation from the investigation division of the state Attorney General's office revealed that a BPD officer in an unmarked cruiser was in the area of Pennsylvania Avenue and Laurens Street when the officer saw Abdullah allegedly wearing a crossbody bag on his back. The officer believed Abdullah had a firearm and attempted to speak with him. One officer then allegedly exited the unmarked cruiser and approached Abdullah on foot. Abdullah began walking away, and the officer followed, according to the AG's report. As the officer followed, the man allegedly shifted the bag from back to front and ran away. A second officer exited the cruiser to help the first officer, according to the AG's preliminary report. A third officer, who was posted at the intersection in a separate marked cruiser, also got out of her vehicle. Police said that the first officer grabbed Abdullah, and a gunshot was fired, which prompted the officers to take cover. "A man ran from officers, and a brief truffle ensued," Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said Tuesday night after the shooting. "At some point, the male broke away, multiple officers returned fire, striking the man." A firearm was recovered and secured by an officer, according to police. Tuesday night, Worley also said that a crowd at the scene interfered with officers as they attempted to provide immediate aid to the man. Fraternal Order of Police response The Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #3 (FOP #3) issued a press release on the social media site 'X' on Thursday in response to the officer-involved shooting. The release from the lodge states that after being approached by police, the suspect chose to escalate the situation. "The citizens of Baltimore need to decide whether they want law and order or chaos," wrote FOP #3 president Mark Mancuso. West Baltimore community reaction On Thursday night, the West Baltimore community held a vigil in honor of Abdullah. Many neighbors and family members were tight-lipped but were visibly upset about his death. "They are trying to make it seem like he is just this bad guy—no, he isn't, you see how many people are out here who love him," said a relative who goes by the name of 'Peezzy'. On Friday afternoon, two separate memorials continued to grow in Abdullah's honor— both at the scene of the shooting and in the neighborhood where the vigil was held. A memorial was dedicated to Bilal "BJ" Abdullah Jr, a well-known arabber shot and killed by Baltimore police, on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Janay Reece Abdullah was a popular arabber, who sold produce on a horse-drawn cart in the city, according to community members. "When we all stopped arabbing, BJ kept going. He kept it going," said Marqueatia "Weedy" Watters, a close friend of BJ. "He kept the name going. Like, he kept it going." Tony, known as "the Melon Man" or the "Fruit Man", said he worked as an arabber with Abdullah's family. "All my life, I worked for his father, BJ's father is Bilal Sr., a brother, and an uncle. So, you know he had plenty of horses," Tony said. "I can tell you, he will be missed." What is an arabber? Arabbing has a long history in Baltimore as a source of fresh produce in food deserts across the city. An arabber is a street vendor who sells fruits and vegetables from a horse-drawn cart. They used to be common in cities along the U.S. East Coast. However, arabbers are working to stay active on the streets of Baltimore. Holden Warren is the co-founder of Stable Baltimore alongside Levar Mullen, an organization that Warren and Mullen dedicated to healing and horse culture. Warren explained to WJZ that they were working with Abdullah to bring arabber's back in a new and sustainable way. "We've been training a new round of arabbers and we talked about bringing BJ back this summer. As we began to roll out new parts of our program," Warren said. "We're going to include an app and let them take EBT and things like that to help, sort of create more income streams for the arrabbers." Body-camera footage to be released Baltimore City NAACP responded to the officer-involved shooting on Facebook, confirming the Baltimore Police Department "... has reached out to the Baltimore City NAACP to arrange a private viewing of the body-worn camera footage once it has been prepared. We intend to review this footage with the seriousness and urgency this moment demands." The West Baltimore community also held a peaceful march and rally at 6:00 p.m. Friday near Pennsylvania and W. North Avenues. At the same time, the Baltimore City Police Accountability Board held an emergency meeting from 6:00p-8:00p.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
‘DNA' movie review: A froth of contrivance floats over big, promising ideas
A man lost to the winds of life and a mentally-challenged woman give life a second chance and get married. A young woman, whose sensitivity is mistaken for incapacity, fights a lonely battle when she believes her newborn baby was swapped with someone else's. A man, tussling with existential guilt and the burden of escape, takes a piercing look at the societal pressures that fall upon most married couples in a conservative society. A new father realises that it takes newborns a month for distinct facial features to develop and hence struggles to identify his child. You find many such big, ambitious ideas, all promising to come together in an engaging investigative thriller, in director Nelson Venkatesan's DNA, starring Atharvaa and Nimisha Sajayan. Unfortunately, these ideas remain disjointed isles of potential. The film wishes you forgive its smaller lapses and take a leap of faith in its larger pursuit. Take, for instance, how we are introduced to the protagonist, Anand (Atharvaa, who gives his all), a heartbroken man who has given up on life and spends his time drinking and wallowing in self-pity. Just when you are wondering if it was really a heartbreak that pushed him to such a low point, we learn that he is burdened by something tragic that has happened to his ex-lover. Though presumably written not to villainise her, you find a convenience in how the idea is communicated, and how it abandoned without the necessary follow-ups. 'DNA' (Tamil) Director: Nelson Venkatesan Cast: Atharvaa, Nimisha Sajayan, Balaji Sakthivel, Ramesh Thilak Runtime: 140 minutes Storyline: A mysterious case of newborn babies being swapped at a private hospital unravels dark truths Then we are introduced to Dhivya (Nimisha in a one-note role that doesn't build on the initial promise), a mentally challenged woman who sees no sense in how others perceive her imperfections. Nelson wishes to make a strong case for those who stigmatise mental illnesses or loosely use the offensive term 'loosu' (meaning 'dumb'). But then, is Dhivya suffering from cognitive development issues, or is she suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder, or is she an intellectually disabled woman who also suffers from BPD? We are told that she is quite sensitive and tends to obsess over the minor details of life. But it's only ironic that the film maps out her 'illness' and doesn't help us understand what goes on in her mind, or if she could fully understand what marriage, living with a man who hardly knows about her condition, or, later, having a child with him, really means. What did she see in Anand that made her agree to the alliance, or what did she understand when Anand saved her from embarrassment at their wedding and declared that this was a chance at a new life given to him? We don't get any answers. In fact, Dhivya and Anand are strangers with lives so drastically different that you would expect a conversation or two as an entry point into understanding each other; usually in such films, the wedding night, when they are alone for the first time, provides that opportunity. In DNA, strangely, Dhivya makes a joke to Anand, and they get intimate — again, she innocently says she is unaware of what traditionally happens during the nuptial night, but her expression after he makes a move lacks the attendant surprise, so you really never understand Dhivya. A major problem with DNA is this rush in the narration, which at this juncture seems eager to get to the more sensational investigative thriller aspect of the film. Yet, even in that regard, the film misses dotting its i's and crossing its t's. After a year that passes by in a montage, Dhivya gives birth to a baby boy at a hospital; shortly after she sees the baby, he is taken to the incubator ward for a few minutes. When the baby is brought back, a puzzled Dhivya declares that this isn't her baby but somebody else's. Neither Anand nor her mother believes her, and the chief doctor, upon learning of Dhivya's mental condition, suspects that she's suffering from post-partum psychosis. You would expect a story about a test of faith between the couple and an investigation that makes you question fact from fiction (given how 'post-partum psychosis' is thrown in), but that isn't the case here. We know what had transpired, and the rest of the film is about the 'how' — because Nelson, in a scene preceding this, decides to reveal a trump card and spoon-feed information. Serving suspense requires giving some information that piques our interest, but you wonder if that could've been achieved without revealing a major key to the case. This hurried narration and convenient plotting continue throughout the investigation that follows. When one takes a step back, everything, from the initial scene that follows a road accident to how police officer Chinnasamy (Balaji Sakthivel) and Anand figure out some major clues, feels awfully convenient. Nelson Venkatesan's previous film, Farhana, told an intriguing thriller story with its heart in the right place and without getting too didactic about it. DNA, while it carries its noble intentions on its sleeves, seems to be the work of a less confident writer-director, one who starts his film with a soup song in a bar and ends all hope with an item song in a bar that serves no purpose. And you thought such trite ideas were no longer part of the genetic fabric of mainstream Tamil cinema. DNA is currently running in theatres
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
Police seek missing 17-year-old
Bakersfield police are looking for a teenage girl who went missing Wednesday night in the 5700 block of Mountain Vista Drive. Layla White, age 17, is considered at-risk because of her age and medical conditions, the Bakersfield Police Department said in a news release Friday. It described her as Black and Hispanic, standing 5 feet 7 inches and weighing 200 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. It said she was wearing a blue shirt, tan shorts and black boots. The agency had no photo of her to share. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call BPD at 661-327-7111.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Police seek missing boy
Bakersfield police are looking for an at-risk 12-year-old who went missing at about 5 p.m. Wednesday in the 1600 block of Third Street. Anson Chavez is described as Hispanic boy standing 5 feet and weighing 105 pounds with brown hair, brown eyes, a black shirt, black pants and black and white shoes. The Bakersfield Police Department reported he is considered at-risk because he has never run away before. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is encouraged to call BPD at 661-327-7111.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bakersfield Police Department suggests raise to body worn camera budget
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The Bakersfield Police Department has requested a raise in their budget relating to body worn camera materials. BPD signed a contract with AXON Enterprise back in November, the budget being $4.1 million. The police department is now requesting that it be raised to $4.3 million for other expenses such as storage, licenses and interview room services. This raise was budgeted by the Public Safety and Vital Services Operating Budget. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
