Baltimore Police Shoot Man (Off His Meds) With Knife 14 Times In The Back - Justified?

BALTIMORE —
Tyree Moorehead, known for creating over 200 "No Shoot Zones" across the city, was shot and killed by police Sunday. The Baltimore Police Department released body camera video of the shooting Tuesday and now, a family member is speaking up.

Carlie McCaskill, Moorehead's cousin, told 11 News he struggled with mental illness and believes he has to speak up about the urgent need for mental health care to prevent more events like this.

City police on Tuesday released bodyworn camera videos that show Officer Zachary Rutherford repeatedly ordering Moorehead to drop a butcher's knife before firing multiple gunshots while Moorehead was on the ground on top of the woman. More than a dozen gunshots were heard on the videos.

"I hadn't seen him no more until I seen the footage and that just drove me crazy. I couldn't stand to see it. I'm highly upset. I'm hurt, I'm really hurt," McCaskill said.

McCaskill said Moorehead suffered from mental illness and the last time he saw him he wasn't himself.

"He had a belt wrapped around him and he had that same butcher knife on his side. Like, he had his belt wrapped around his body, not in the loops of his belt or nothing and he had the knife in his side," McCaskill said.

He said Moorehead had become paranoid and believed police were out to get him.

"I guess by them harassing him and stuff like that it just triggered something, and he just stopped taking his medication because he was going through something with that,"

He said more needs to be done to address mental health, access to care and the stigma behind getting help.

"We all go through things. We all suffer. That's why we all (are) here in the world to help each one help one. And it just seems like it's not enough being done. Everybody talks about it, but when you go to get help you get turned away," he said. "I feel like this right here, it just was too late. It was too late."

McCaskill said he hopes no one else suffers the same fate as his cousin, one where his legacy of helping is overshadowed by a violent end.

"I want his legacy to be that Tyree Moorehead tried to help Baltimore City. Tried to do something positive for Baltimore City. Though the same city that in our younger days, we helped destroy, he tried to help build and out back," McCaskill said.

McCaskill said more training is needed for police encountering mental health emergencies and believes the officer's actions were excessive.

Baltimore police released a body-worn camera video Tuesday from the officer who shot and killed a man who was threatening a woman with a knife Sunday.

The video shows the officer, identified as Zachary Rutherford, pulling up to the scene in West Baltimore, where he sees Tyree Moorehead on top of a woman and holding a large butcher knife at her head.

Rutherford screams "drop the knife" but Moorehead continues to straddle the woman on the pavement. Rutherford then fires his weapon multiple times at close range, the video shows.

As Rutherford fires his weapons, the woman rolls away to safety. She was not shot or stabbed, police said.