Officers

A woman shot Saturday in Pikesville by a Baltimore County police officer - after the officer thought she had pulled a weapon - turned out to be holding a replica of a semi-automatic handgun, according to police. Police had responded to the 3100 block of Northbrook Road in Pikesville just before 2 a.m. for a call about a suspicious person. When the officer arrived, he saw a woman standing in front of the house and saw her throw a large rock at the house, which broke a window, police said.

Baltimore Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man found in a vehicle in Northwest Baltimore on Saturday morning. Officers went to the 2500 block of Chelsea Terrace, which is off of Gwynns Falls Parkway, on Saturday about 3:15 a.m. for a report of a car accident, police said. They found a man inside a vehicle. He was suffering from at least one gunshot wound, they said. The man was taken to Sinai Hospital, where he later died. alisonk@baltsun.com twitter.com

Baltimore County police say they shot a woman in Pikesville early Saturday after she pulled a handgun on an officer. The woman was in serious condition at a local hospital Saturday evening but expected to survive, police said. According to a news release, the officer was called to the 3100 block of North Brook Road before 2 a.m. to investigate a report of a suspicious person. He saw a woman throw a large rock at a house, officials said, breaking a window. The woman allegedly drew a handgun, and police said the officer repeatedly ordered her to drop, then shot her multiple times in the upper body.

A31-year-old Baltimore Police officer was charged Friday with pimping out his wife after officers from a human trafficking task force found him outside a hotel room where the woman had agreed to have sex for cash with an undercover officer. The child recovery task force was working a proactive investigation into human trafficking when they came across a "young-looking female" advertised as an escort on a website, police said. Officers arranged to meet the female at a hotel near BWI airport, court records show.

Former Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold has resurfaced with a critique of his successor, saying her statements about his administration are "disingenuous" and "feckless. " In a letter sent to The Baltimore Sun and other newspapers, Leopold criticized current County Executive Laura Neuman's description of the county as "defined by mediocrity" and "way behind in culture, attitude and investment" because of Leopold's actions. Leopold said in an interview Thursday afternoon that he decided to speak up because he felt Neuman's assertions went too far. "I have no problem with her wanting to stress her goals and accomplishments, but I felt some of her statements were inaccurate," he said.

An off-duty Baltimore police officer gave himself up late Tuesday after barricading himself in a home with a toddler in a six-hour standoff that began when he fatally shot a woman, authorities said. Officer James Smith, a 20-year veteran and member of the motorcycle unit, was taken into custody before 9:30 p.m. and was charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday morning, among other charges, according to court records. Police had evacuated residents in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood from their homes during the incident.

The shooting of Kendra Diggs and the subsequent barricade by her alleged attacker presented a challenge Tuesday for police and emergency responders. Under the threat of further gunfire from the off-duty Baltimore police officer, officials said, they were unable to render medical aid to the dying woman. "When you have a person who is down … what we're trained on is that you don't jeopardize six or seven police officers in your emotional reaction to save that person," Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said in an interview Wednesday.

A Washington, D.C., police officer was charged Tuesday with money laundering in connection with an alleged drug-trafficking scheme in the Pittsburgh and Baltimore areas. Federal authorities say more than $2 million in proceeds from cocaine was hidden. Officer Jared K. Weinberg, 28, was taken into custody Monday at the 4th District police station, according to a department spokeswoman. The charges in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh allege a broad conspiracy that includes meetings in which prosecutors say large amounts of cash were exchanged at apartment buildings in Howard County and at the Mall in Columbia.

We would like to appreciate the service that was provided by the Laurel Police Dept. on Saturday, May 4, when the following incident happened at Main Street Dental. We received a call from the alarm people on Saturday evening informing us that out dental office alarm had gone off. We called our neighbor who also heard some noise in the basement of the dental office. The police were notified and they came right away. It was a suspected robbery. The police came and surrounded the building in view of catching the suspected robber.

It takes incredible courage for a victim of domestic violence to apply for a protective order. Victims must make their way to the courthouse, often while they are still experiencing the effects of their abuse. At the courthouse, they must write a description of how they were abused, and then describe their abuse again to a judge, often in front of a courtroom filled with strangers. If the judge determines that there has been abuse, the judge will issue a temporary protective order that must be served by a law enforcement officer on the alleged abuser.