Bel Air Man Shot By Deputy During Domestic Dispute Is Identified

Sheriff's officials have released the name of the man fatally shot by a deputy responding to a domestic call Saturday afternoon in Bel Air.

Lt. Christina Presberry, a sheriff's department spokeswoman, identified the man as Jason Lawrence, 23, of the 100 block of Ellicott Drive, the scene of the call. The deputy, a five-year member of the sheriff's office, was not named and was not injured.

Shortly after noon, the deputy responded to a report of a man threatening other residents of the house with a knife, and encountered the man in the house. Presberry said when the deputy ordered the man to drop the knife and he refused, the deputy feared for his safety and fired several shots that hit the man in his upper body.

Other residents of the house were not injured.

Lawrence was taken by a Fire Department ambulance to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center and pronounced dead a short time later. The deputy was placed on administrative leave, a routine procedure. The shooting remains under investigation.

Presberry said domestic calls are among the most dangerous incidents handled by police officers. "You never know what is going to happen," she said.