In sentencing former Baltimore City police Officer Gahiji A. Tshamba to 15 years in prison Tuesday for the fatal shooting of an unarmed man outside a Mount Vernon nightclub last year, Circuit Judge Edward R.K. Hargadon sent a powerful message: that no one, including those entrusted with protecting the public safety, is above the law. In a city where relations between police and residents have often been strained, the severity of the punishment should serve to reassure citizens that egregious criminal misconduct by police will not be tolerated and that the justice system will act swiftly and forcefully to hold wrongdoers to account.
Mr. Tshamba was found guilty in June of voluntary manslaughter and a handgun violation in the shooting death of Iraq War veteran Tyrone Brown, an event precipitated when Mr. Brown patted or groped the buttocks of Mr. Tshamba's female companion as a group of people were leaving the Red Maple lounge through an alley behind the club. It appears both men had been drinking, and that Mr. Brown's inappropriate touching, while highly offensive to the woman, was intended as a prank.
What happened next was anything but funny, however. An argument erupted that quickly escalated when Mr. Tshamba drew his service weapon and ordered Mr. Brown to lie on the ground — without, however, identifying himself as a police officer. According to Mr. Brown's sister, Chantay Kangalee, who Judge Hargadon said was the most credible witness to the incident, Mr. Brown was trying to defuse the situation when he raised his hands and turned away from the officer to make sure his sister was out of the line of fire. When he turned back toward Mr. Tshamba, with his hands still in the air, the officer emptied his weapon at the unarmed man, who died a few hours later at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.