Mardio House,

Baltimore, Maryland
September 10, 1999

Agencies: Baltimore Police Department Maryland

Cause of death: Shooting


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Last updated: almost 6 years ago

Overview

Agent Angelique Cook-Hayes, a city police spokeswoman, said Graul and an unidentified Drug Enforcement Agent were looking for House as part of a fugitive tracking team when they saw him in the 1500 block of North Patterson Park Ave.

Cook-Hayes said House and Graul made eye contact with House and he immediately started running. Graul and the agent, both wearing plain clothes and in an unmarked car, chased him on foot.

She said the chase wound down several streets and through alleys. Twice, according to the officers, House reached into the front of his pants, Cook-Hayes said, a common maneuver made when a gun is tucked in the waistband. She said Graul did not see a weapon.

Cook-Hayes said Graul fired three shots that missed House when he made the gestures. House stopped at North Montford Avenue near Llewelyn Avenue and crouched next to marble steps leading to a rowhouse.

Graul and the DEA agent took cover about 20 feet away, she said, and believing House was armed, repeatedly shouted for him to drop a weapon. "Put your hands up," Graul said at one point. "Throw the gun out."

Cook-Hayes said that House "unexpectedly jumped out and put his hands out, holding a black object. He was shot at least three times." She said officers recovered a dropped cell phone, but no weapon.

Reginald Gibson, 41, said he witnessed the final confrontation and saw that House did not have a weapon. He said he shouted to Graul that the man was unarmed.

"I told the officer he didn't have a gun in his hand," Gibson said. "Then the guy came up and the officer reacted."

Gibson, who lives in the neighborhood and was interviewed by detectives at headquarters, said he was about 20 feet from Graul. He said he heard three shots and saw the wounded man fall and drop a black flip-up phone from his right hand. He said he did not know House.