Central District Officer-Involved Shooting Investigation
On August 22, 2026, at approximately 9:32 p.m., a Central District officer was conducting parking enforcement in the 200 block of N. Eutaw Street when he located a vehicle with expired registration. The officer ran the vehicle’s license plate and learned that the registration was suspended.
The officer issued a citation for the vehicle, requested a tow truck, and began the process of removing the vehicle’s license plate. During this time, the registered owner and another individual arrived at the vehicle.
The owner repeatedly denied that the vehicle belonged to him. The officer later informed him that records confirmed he was the registered owner and that the vehicle was being towed. The officer also advised him that he could retrieve his belongings from the vehicle.
The owner denied having the vehicle’s keys, but he quickly entered the vehicle and started it. The officer was positioned near the front of the driver’s side door and requested that a responding officer position a patrol vehicle in front of the vehicle.
The driver then accelerated forward, striking the officer and causing him to fall onto the hood of the vehicle. The driver briefly stopped, then reversed and accelerated again, carrying the officer on the hood as the vehicle continued forward.
The vehicle continued to accelerate, striking the responding patrol vehicle, at which point the Officer discharged three rounds into the vehicle.
The driver, 29-year-old Tyrik L. Braxton of Columbia, MD, was transported to an area hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
The involved BPD Officer, Samuel Thomas, a 20-year veteran, was transported to an area hospital with neck and back injuries. He has since been released from the hospital and is on routine administrative leave.
Investigators from the Special Investigations Response Team (SIRT) are investigating the incident. The Department has also activated its Public Release of Critical Incident Recordings Policy. For more information on this policy, click here.<https://www.baltimorepolice.org/transparency/bpd-policies/607-public-release-critical-incident-recordings>
