Brian McCourry Jr.
Date: 1/31/2023 Location: White Marsh, MD FACTORS (1,2,8,14,19)
Name: Brian Roger McCourry Jr.
Criminal History/Involved: Yes, McCourry was wanted for two shootings in December 2022 and had active warrants. / Yes, McCourry was fleeing from police and intentionally rammed a police vehicle.
Mental Illness: Unknown.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown. / None stated.
Race/Sex/Age: White/Male/37
Officer(s) involved: Baltimore County Police Department Detective J. Trenary
What prompted the initial contact with police? Around 6 a.m. on January 31, 2023, detectives with the Baltimore County Police Department's Criminal Apprehension Support Team surrounded a vehicle operated by McCourry after conducting surveillance on him for several days. Officers exited their vehicles, and ordered McCourry and his passenger to exit the vehicle.
Actions taken by subject towards police: McCourry ignored the officer’s lawful orders and rammed an unmarked police car, creating a gap which he was able to drive his vehicle through.
Reactions by the police: As McCourry drove his vehicle past Detective Trenary, the detective fired one shot into the vehicle. Seriously injured from the shot, McCourry struck a curb and crashed into another vehicle. Detectives rendered first aid and McCourry was transported to a hospital where he died from his wounds on March 3, 2023.
Outcome of investigation into the fatal police incident: The Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigation Division declined to bring charges against Det. Trenary.
What could the subject have done that day to still be alive today? McCourry could still be alive today if he: wasn’t involved in two prior shootings; didn’t have active warrants; didn’t evade police surveillance; didn’t ram the police vehicles and attempt to flee.
Justified Use of Deadly Force? YES, McCourry was a known violent felon, involved in previous shootings, had been eluding police surveillance, intentionally rammed the police vehicle blocking his vehicle and then drove close to Det. Trenary as he tried to flee. In light of all those factors and the dark tinted windows of the vehicle possibly concealing a weapon pointed at him, Det. Trenary reasonably feared for his life as well as that of the other detectives and public, and therefore justifiably used deadly force.
