NORTH EAST, MD. (8/22/2015) A 30-year-old man was shot to death Friday night by a Maryland state trooper who was trying to arrest him, police said this morning.
The man killed was identified as Charles S. Hall of North East.
The shooting happened about 9 p.m. at the North East Plaza Shopping Center, on Route 272 at U.S. 40, The center has a Walmart Supercenter and several smaller stores.
The trooper, Daryl K. Brackett, was on duty, in uniform and driving a marked patrol car when he responded to a call at an auto parts store in the shopping center, police said.
In the parking lot, Brackett saw Hall and knew he was wanted by the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant for theft.
Police gave this account:
“The initial investigation indicates the trooper approached Hall on foot at the back of Hall’s vehicle. Trooper Brackett attempted to arrest Hall in the parking lot, but he resisted and a physical altercation ensued.
“While still struggling with the trooper, Hall got into his vehicle and began to accelerate out of the parking space. During the struggle, the trooper fired his assigned duty pistol, striking Hall in the upper torso. EMS personnel were summoned. Hall was pronounced dead at the scene.”
Brackett is a three-year veteran of Maryland State Police, assigned to road patrol duties from the North East barrack.
Maryland State Police homicide investigators are interviewing witnesses and processing the scene. The police internal affairs unit also is investigating.
Brackett has been placed on administrative leave.
Results of the investigation will be forwarded to the Cecil County State’s Attorney’s Office for review, police said.