Police Officer Involved in Fatal White Marsh Shooting is Named

Baltimore County Police Department officials have released the name of the officer who fired his weapon in the fatal shooting of a man in White Marsh  on June 5.

Officer First Class Harden, a nine-year veteran of the department, shot and killed Arnett Myers, 57, of the 11100 block of Pulaski Highway, according to a statement from police spokeswoman Cpl. Cathy Batton.

The officer's first name was not disclosed in accordance with a memorandum of understanding between the county and the police union, according to Batton.

Harden, who is assigned to the patrol division of Essex Police Precinct 11, has not been involved in any previous police-involved shootings, according to Batton.

Police were called to the Colony Motel on Pulaski Highway shortly after 5:15 p.m. June 5 for a report of an assault, according to police.

A woman at the scene told officers that a suspect on a motor scooter had caused a disturbance. When she asked him to leave, he drove the scooter in circles around her and then tried to hit her with the scooter, according to police.

An investigation took them to the suspect's apartment a few blocks away. Police discovered that Myers had an open failure-to-appear warrant for child support non-compliance and attempted to arrest him, Batton said in the statement.

Myers struggled with officers and allegedly grabbed at an officer's gun, trying to remove it from its holster, according to the statement.

Harden, fearing for the safety of the officers involved, fired his weapon several times, striking and fatally injuring Myers, who was declared dead at the scene, according to police officials.

Information about how many times Harden fired his weapon and how many bullets struck Myers will not be available until after the forensic examination of the weapon and the autopsy are complete, Batton said in an email to Patch.

As a matter of departmental procedure, Harden has been placed on administrative leave, according to Batton.