Off-duty Baltimore Officer Fatally Shot by Police
Posted: April 24th, 2008 01:16 PM PDT

By ALEX DOMINGUEZ
Associated Press Writer

BALTIMORE --

An off-duty officer was shot and killed by another officer early Thursday after he drew a handgun when police tried to quell a brawl at a strip club, police said.

Officer Norman Stamp, 65, was fatally shot after he failed to follow an order to halt and instead drew his weapon, Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III said at a news conference.

The uniformed officer, John Torres, had first used a Taser in an unsuccessful attempt to subdue him, Bealefeld said. Torres did not recognize Stamp, and there was no indication Stamp identified himself as an officer, he said.

Torres, 26, "did what he was taught to do in these types of situations," Bealefeld said.

Officers responded shortly after midnight to reports of a fight outside the Haven Place club. Torres stationed himself by a door to prevent anyone else from joining the melee, and confronted Stamp when he emerged wearing brass knuckles, Bealefeld said.

The jolt from the stun gun caused Stamp to fall to the ground, Bealefeld said, at which point Stamp drew his handgun. After he was shot, Stamp was rushed to a hospital, where he died around 1:30 a.m.

Stamp had been with the department 44 years, making him one of its longest-serving officers.

"Officer Stamp was a mentor to some and a friend to many," Bealefeld said. "This is an incredibly difficult time."

The brawl began after several women came to the bar looking for work and "some people made comments about them," Bealefeld said. Stamp's role had not been determined.

Police spokesman Sterling Clifford said Torres, who joined the department in 2002, would not have recognized Stamp because the older officer had spent several years in the unit that patrols the Inner Harbor.

"He just wouldn't have ever run into him," Clifford said. Torres was placed on administrative duty after the shooting.

Stamp became the seventh person shot and killed by Baltimore police this year, Clifford said.

I wonder what their firearms training is like. They appear to be good shots.

I can’t put my finger on it but this isn’t adding up. Why would a 44 yr vet pull his gun on fellow police officers?

WTF was going on there?