Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced on Wednesday that a police officer who shot an unarmed burglary suspect at the end of last year is charged with attempted murder.
Officer Wesley Cagle is one of four officers who confronted a man named Michael Johansen while Johansen was allegedly burglarizing a corner grocery store. Two other officers shot Johansen after they asked him to show his hands and he reached towards his waist instead. According to Mosby, those officers “acted justifiably and appropriately.” Cagle, however, allegedly confronted the unarmed Johansen while the burglary suspect had already been shot and was lying across the entryway to the store. According to Mosby, Cagle stood over Johansen, called him a “piece of shit,” and fired one shot into the burglary suspect’s groin.
Johansen, who survived, faces burglary charges in addition to a charge for theft of less than $1,000. Cagle is charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and second-degree assault.
Prosecutions of cops by local prosecutors, who depend on those cops in much of their day-to-day work, are unusual — although Mosby is known for her decision to file charges in another high-profile case alleging police abuse. Wednesday’s announcement, moreover, was particularly unusual because Mosby announced the charges alongside interim Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, in a show that the police department’s leadership agrees with the decision to charge this officer.