BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — The attorney for a Cockeysville man accused of shooting dead two Baltimore County police officers during a three-day manhunt in February said his client attempted “suicide by a police officer,” according to a Baltimore Banner report as he pulled the trigger .
David Linthicum, 24, has been charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree assault and auto theft after police arrested him on February 10 after an eight-hour standoff in a Harford County wooded area.
Subscribe to
Police said Linthicum shot dead a police officer who had been sent to his home on February 8 and a day later shot dead a detective involved in the search for him.
In a bail request obtained by Banner, Linthicum’s attorneys said he shot into a wall of his Cockeysville home in an attempt to have police kill him.
In the motion, attorneys also asked for Linthicum’s release from the Baltimore County Detention Center under house arrest because Banner said he was being held naked 24 hours a day in a cell with just a piece of plastic for a ceiling. Lawyers also said he had no access to recreational or reading materials.
“Containing someone who was suicidal from the start in a jail cell twenty-three hours a day with no access to exercise, rest, or even reading materials is tantamount to torture,” his attorneys wrote in the Banner motion.
On February 8, Baltimore County Police responded to a call about a person in distress at a home on Sherwood Road in Cockeysville. Linthicum fired multiple shots, hitting an officer before fleeing the scene, police said.
The officers did not fire their guns, according to a spokesman for the Baltimore County Police Department.
Residents have been asked to take shelter on the spot while police searched for Linthicum for over two days. During the manhunt, Linthicum shot a Baltimore County detective multiple times and stole his official police vehicle.
Both officers have since been released from the hospital.
Linthicum then drove out of Baltimore County and abandoned the vehicle near the intersection of Belair and Mountain streets after police used spike strips to disable the stolen vehicle, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office. He took refuge in a wooded area near a mall in Fallston and attempted to escape officers.
Police used “less lethal” tactics during the standoff to try to get Linthicum to surrender, authorities said, adding that officers were able to communicate with Linthicum towards the end of the standoff.
According to authorities, Linthicum had ammunition with him when he was taken into custody, but no gun. The gun was later found in the abandoned police vehicle.
Linthicum had a history of drug use and was reportedly described as quiet and withdrawn by those who knew him.
Meanwhile, Linthicum’s brother called the ordeal “entirely avoidable” and blamed family, teachers and authorities for not helping him sooner, according to a separate report by Banner.
“It was completely avoidable,” said Martin Linthicum, who lives in Ireland. “He should have gotten help years ago. I made (the family) aware of this. Nothing was done.”
