Bodycam shows officer urging Army specialist to leave car before fatal police shooting

Bodycam footage released Friday shows a Baltimore County Police officer trying to persuade a distressed Army service member out of her car before the situation turns fatal.

Police said officers had been called to the 1000 block of Carroll Island Road in Middle River around 6 a.m. on Sept. 3 to check on an armed person who was wanted for an assault.

The police video shows Sadie Holman, 21, a specialist in the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade at Fort Meade, sitting in the driver’s seat of a red Toyota and crying.

Holman handed over a knife, authorities have said. The footage shows Cpl. James Haddix, an eight-year veteran of the Baltimore County Police Department, trying to get Holman to come out of the car.

“If you come out and talk to us, and we make sure you don’t have any weapons, then we’ll get you everything that you need,” Haddix tells the Odenton resident.

Though Holman says something that makes her and the officer laugh, she continues to appear in distress. Holman wipes her tears with what appears to be a gray hoodie. She shakes and rubs her head despite the officer telling her he will put her in touch with someone she loves.

“It’s hot in here. We want to get you something to drink, something to eat, get you out of this car,” Haddix says.

The video then shows Holman reach in between the driver’s seat and armrest for something.

“What are you doing? What are you reaching for?” Haddix asks, as another officer stands beside the passenger-side window.

Someone appears to call out that she has a gun, and Haddix fires one shot through the rear driver’s side window as he quickly walks backward from the vehicle.

“Oh shit. Watch out, watch out, watch out,” he says.

As officers call out to Holman to see if she’s still alive, Haddix tells other officers: “She fired. I heard the gun cock, and I fired.”

Only one gunshot is heard on the video.

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division, which is investigating this case, has not said that Haddix shot Holman. Haddix is on administrative leave.

Holman was based at Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County, an Army spokesperson told The Banner.

Myron Young, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, said in a statement last month: “The health and safety of our Soldiers is our number one priority, and the unit is providing support to everyone affected.”

Banner reporter Shayla Colon contributed to this story.