The Maryland Attorney General’s Office identified an Essex man and the Baltimore County officers who fatally shot him during a domestic disturbance call Wednesday night.
Howard Sye, 31, died after an encounter with police at an apartment complex in the 900 block of Holgate Drive in which he was allegedly armed with a knife.
Police said they responded to a report of a disturbance in Essex around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday when they found Sye armed with a knife, gave him verbal commands and fired their weapons at him.
The officers involved in Sye’s death were Malia Hooper and Trent LaPosta, both one-year veterans, and Nicholas Vagnier and Hunter Cortes, who’ve each served on the force for two years, the Attorney General’s Office said. They’re on administrative leave as state officials continue investigating.
The Internal Investigations Division of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office said the officers found a woman inside the residence of the building suffering from stab wounds. Baltimore County Police said she and Sye were taken to a hospital. A Baltimore County spokesperson said the woman was recovering at the hospital Thursday.
One officer was injured during the incident and taken to a hospital, the AG’s office said.
Police described the stabbing as a “domestic-related incident” and said it remains under investigation.
This is one of four Baltimore County Police officer-involved shootings being investigated by the state, one more than last year.
Six officers — Andrew Meyer, Malik McLaughlin, Austin Kiss, Nicholas Cook, Mason Rice and Luke Eubert — are under investigation for their involvement in the fatal shooting of Dundalk’s Robert Adams during a barricade situation in October. Like Cortes, Hooper, LaPosta and Vagnier, they were a part of the police department’s Operations Bureau.
Also in Dundalk, Baltimore County Police fatally shot Glenn Pettie Jr., 43, after he allegedly fired upon an officer during a mental health crisis in May.
After he was seen firing arrows at passing cars in what family members said was a mental health episode, Arvel Jones Sr. of Arbutus was fatally shot by Baltimore County Police officers in April.
None of the Baltimore County Police officers involved in the three incidents last year was charged.



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