Grocery store manager injured in 2021 shooting sues Baltimore police officer who fired him – Baltimore Sun

A former grocery store supervisor who was shot in the arm in 2021 filed a lawsuit Thursday against one of the Baltimore police officers who fired his gun during the shooting.

Luis Peralta Rodriguez, then 20, was working at a Compare Foods supermarket in North Baltimore on January 30, 2021, when he was injured in a shootout between store security guards and police.

“This case has never left my mind and changed my life forever,” Rodriguez said Thursday at a news conference at the Murphy, Falcon & Murphy law firm.

The complaint filed in Baltimore Circuit Court accuses Rosenberger of gross negligence and violating police use-of-force policies and assault. Attorneys William “Billy” Murphy Jr. and Malcolm Ruff wrote in the complaint that the bullet entered and exited Rodriguez’s right bicep, causing arterial bleeding and leaving scarring and “severe pain.” ing.

A spokesperson for the Baltimore Police Department declined to comment, saying the department does not comment on active or pending litigation.

Rodriguez, now 23 and living in Philadelphia, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, hyperarousal and emotional distress.

“Officer Rosenberger’s reckless actions have ruined his life,” Ruff said Thursday.

The incident at the Alameda Marketplace grocery store began with a confrontation between 34-year-old security guard Donte Green and another employee. Police initially said Green was “furious” over the fraudulent payroll claims, but co-workers said he dropped $500 in cash on the floor and the cashier took the money. He said he believed him and was angry. As a security guard at the store, Green was only supposed to carry pepper spray.

Store employees said Mr. Green asked a manager to play the security camera footage, but he was busy dealing with a rush of customers ahead of the snowstorm. Green’s co-workers said Green continued to demand money and to play security footage of him pointing a gun at a woman’s ribs until managers collected $500 in cash and tried to leave. It is said that

Body camera footage released by police in 2021 shows Baltimore police officers Daniel Jensen and Wesley Rosenberger responding to a report of an armed person inside the store, and Greene pointing a gun at them. It was revealed that he had witnessed what was happening. Ruff and Murphy wrote in their complaint that an “armed individual” first fired at Rosenberger and Jensen in the produce section of the store.

After taking cover behind a cash register, Jensen exchanged gunfire with Green as customers and employees scattered, before Jensen ran outside and called for backup, according to video released by police. Ta.

Rodriguez’s attorney played clips of Rosenberger’s body camera video and surveillance video to reporters Thursday. Rapid gunfire could be heard as Rosenberger hid behind the checkout counter and opened fire on it. Rodriguez allegedly tried to push open the exit door, but was unsuccessful, then turned and opened a door leading to the stairs and second-floor manager’s office.

“His tactical decision was to train his gun against the door and wait for the gunman to come and get him,” Ruff said, calling the choice “an improper tactic.” “a decision that put officers, Rodriguez, and other bystanders at risk.”

Video released by police in 2021 shows Rosenberger firing into the stairwell and another office employee saying, “He works here,” referring to the person at the bottom of the stairs. I told the police. Days after the shooting, Rodriguez told the Baltimore Sun that police accidentally shot him as he headed for an open door.

“I opened the door and that’s exactly when I got shot,” Rodriguez said at the time.

Police did not verify his account at the time. Lawyers also played surveillance footage without audio that shows Rodriguez entering through the door at the bottom of the stairs, his cell phone screen flashing, and then collapsing.

“Officer Rosenberger was able to fulfill one of the most basic duties assigned to him: to shoot the criminal and protect the people in the store by making sure everyone was in a safe place while he was working. Instead, he went upstairs to escape the gunman and blindly fired his gun at Mr. Rodriguez,” Murphy said.

Mr. Green, the security guard, fled the store and was killed five days later in a Feb. 4 shootout at a West Baltimore rowhouse that left a U.S. Marshals Service member critically injured.

Ruff said a Baltimore police investigation into Rosenberger’s use of force in the incident cleared him of violating department policy.

A police spokeswoman would not confirm or deny Thursday, but said Rosenberger remains a member of the department. At the time of the shooting, Jensen had been with the Baltimore Police Department for four years, while Rosenberger had been with the force for one year.

Lawyers wrote in their complaint that they are seeking more than $75,000 in damages. Judgments against public agencies such as police departments are capped at $890,000 by state law.