Tossing Salt Presents:
A Day of Dougie:
Justice for Nathan. Was It Murder?
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

Have you ever been reading a story or report about something and it just makes the spidey sense go haywire, as in something is not right here? I was feeling a bit nostalgic today and looking up old friends and acquaintances on Google. And I looked up the name of a friend from many moons ago, Nathan Dixson McCormick III.

Nathan was a cool dude, part of my Stoney Crew days, and while we were never the best of friends, we shared many a beer and experience. Always friendly, always smiling, and always good company. I already knew that he had passed away back in 2011 and that police were involved, but I never bothered to follow up and get details… until now.

Nathan was shot by a police officer responding to a call about an alleged suicidal man threatening to hurt himself. Here is the newspaper description of the event.

Police Identify Man Fatally Shot By Officer In Dundalk
September 26, 2011 / 12:23 PM EDT / CBS Baltimore

DUNDALK, Md. (WJZ)— Police have identified the man fatally shot by an officer in Dundalk on Sunday night.

Nathaniel Dixson McCormick, 40, of the 7300-block of Berkshire Road, was fatally shot by an officer Sunday at approximately 9:20 p.m.

Patrol officers were called to the home for a suicidal person with knives. When officers approached the glass front storm door of the house, they found McCormick standing near the door inside the home. He was holding a knife.

Officers ordered McCormick to drop the knife, but police say he refused. Police say he then charged toward the front door and the officers standing on the front porch on the other side of the door. One officer fired several rounds from his duty weapon, striking McCormick.

McCormick was transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital. The body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy.

The case will be reviewed internally and by the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office. The officer has been placed on routine administrative leave.

And here is another report of the incident.

Update: Armed, Suicidal Man Shot by Police Identified
Family members called police about a suicidal man in the 7300 block of Berkshire Road Sunday night.
Ron Cassie,
Patch Staff
Verified Patch Staff Badge
Posted Mon, Sep 26, 2011 at 5:08 am ET
|Updated Mon, Sep 26, 2011 at 4:00 pm ET

Update (11:50 a.m.) An armed, reportedly suicidal man was shot and killed by Baltimore County police Sunday night in Dundalk. He has been identified as Nathaniel Dixson McCormick, 40, of the 7300 block of Berkshire Road.

Baltimore County police responded at approximately 9:20 p.m. to a home in the 7300 block of Berkshire Road following a 911 call about a suicidal man, according to Lt. Rob McCullough, a police spokesman. A family member made the 911 call, McCullough said.

“The subject was threatening to hurt anyone who came near him,” McCullough said.

According to a Baltimore County police statement, when patrol officers approached the glass front door storm door of the house, they observed McCormick standing near the door inside the home and holding a knife.

Officers ordered McCormick to drop the knife, but he refused to do so, according to police, who said McCormick “then charged toward the front door and officers standing on the front porch on the other side of the glass.”

Fearing for his safety, according to police, one officer fired several rounds from his duty weapon at McCormick.

Initial reports from police Sunday night indicated that McCormick possessed two large knives. McCormick was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center where he was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.

Berkshire Road remained closed past midnight as police continued their investigation.

“The case will be reviewed internally and by the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office. The officer has been placed on routine administrative leave,” Baltimore Count police wrote in a statement.

The police officer involved in the shooting was not named.

Patch will update the story as more information becomes available.

Reading both articles, something stands out to me. Nathan was inside the house, allegedly holding a knife, right? The officers were on the porch, outside of the home, on the other side of a closed screen door. So, Nathan allegedly moves towards the door and one of the officers opens fire and shoots at him… through the door. There was a door there. Nathan was inside the house. The police were outside the house. Yet, the officer was so scared and threatened that despite a barrier between the officer and Nathan, he opened fire and shot Nathan.

Does this make sense? Whatever happened to de-escalating the situation? The only person Nathan could hurt in that situation would be himself. There was a door between the police and Nathan. And yet, the cop panicked, freaked out, or maybe even just out of spite, shot Nathan several times and Nathan ended up dead as a result.

The articles state that an internal investigation happened and the officer, who was never named, was placed on routine administrative leave. I’ve looked around online and can find no more updates for this story.

And that’s why my spidey sense was tingling. My friend, Nathan D. McCormick III, was senselessly murdered and no one cares. An unidentified cop acted rashly, even though he was in no immediate danger, and shot Nathan, apparently walking away with no repercussions or consequences. This makes no sense at all and is wrong on so many counts.

I’m going to continue to look into this and do a FOIA request online to see if I can learn what was the final resolution to this matter, aside from Nathan being dead, that is. Was the incident ruled a criminal act or just covered up? Were there any consequences for the officer or was it just another day at the office? Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks for reading. If you remember Nat and have any memories you’d like to share, please feel welcome to do so. Nat was a good dude. He deserves so much better than he got. Rest in peace, buddy.

Ubuntu.