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Donnell Rochester

Age : 18

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 02/19/2022

Location : 3200 Hillen Rd

City : Baltimore

County : Baltimore

State : Maryland

Agency : Baltimore PD

Officer(s) :Robert Mauri, Connor Murray

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during traffic stop

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 02/19/2022, Baltimore Police officers Robert Mauri and Antoine Galloway ran the tags on a Honda and identified the driver as Donnell Rochester, then broadcast over the radio that the registered owner had multiple open warrants. Officers followed the Honda, and Officer Connor Murray and Officer Joshua Lutz joined in a marked patrol vehicle.
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On 02/19/2022 at about 3:13 p.m., officers located Rochester and the Honda near the 1800 block of Chilton Street near Hillen Road. Rochester was outside the vehicle for a short time, then got back into the driver seat as officers closed in on foot from multiple directions.
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On 02/19/2022, Officer Murray ran down the center of the street toward the front of the Honda and positioned about 20 feet in front of it as the car began moving forward. Officer Murray fired three shots in quick succession into the moving vehicle. Those three shots struck the windshield and hood and did not hit Rochester.
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On 02/19/2022 seconds later, body worn camera footage showed the Honda continuing forward and passing Officer Murray without hitting him. As the Honda moved past him, Officer Murray fired a fourth shot through the front passenger side window while he was falling. Investigators concluded the fatal wound pattern matched that fourth shot, with a round traveling through Rochester’s right arm and into the right upper chest.
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On 02/19/2022 immediately after Officer Murray fired, Officer Mauri fired two shots from the sidewalk toward the Honda, with less than one second between Officer Murray’s final shot and Officer Mauri’s shots. Investigators reported neither of Officer Mauri’s shots struck Rochester.
On 02/19/2022 after the gunfire, Rochester exited the vehicle with his hands raised and then collapsed. He later died at a hospital. He had been unarmed. His warrants were all non-criminal for traffic violations and failure to appear for them. There were no felony warrants.
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INVESTIGATION AND FINDINGS:
On 07/27/2022, the Maryland Attorney General Office Independent Investigations Division completed its report and later sent it to the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office. The Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division determined that the fatal fourth shot was fired after Murray had moved out of the vehicle’s path and the driver “no longer posed a threat.”They explicitly stated prosecutors could likely prove voluntary manslaughter based on that final shot timing. This is extremely rare language in an official police shooting review. IID public case log lists the case as complete on 07/27/2022 and it was specifically declined by the local State’s Attorney on 01/12/2023.
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The IID report analyzed potential criminal charges and focused heavily on the timing and threat reassessment at the moment of the fatal fourth shot. A total of 6 shots were fired. The fourth shot was lethal. It was proven to have been fired when the car had already safely passed the officers and there was no threat to them. The report noted that video appeared to show Officer Murray dodging the car without being hit, and then firing the fourth shot as the car passed. The report also addressed whether the fatal fourth shot was intentional and stated investigators believed the State likely could prove it was intentional based on the body camera images and weapon positioning.
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CHARGING DECISION AND WHETHER ANY OFFICERS WERE CHARGED:
On 01/12/2023, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates declined to file criminal charges against Officer Murray, despite the state IID analysis describing a scenario where prosecutors could argue offenses including voluntary manslaughter based on the final shot timing and necessity. Multiple outlets reported Bates concluded he could not overcome legal defenses and determined the officers acted lawfully under the circumstances as he evaluated them. No officer was criminally charged in this case based on the publicly reported decisions.
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FAMILY RESPONSE AND PUBLIC PROTESTS:
On 03/25/2022, dozens of protesters marched from the Coldstream Homestead Montebello area to Baltimore City Hall demanding charges and accountability in Rochester’s death. Coverage described student involvement and Rochester’s mother Danielle Brown speaking publicly about her son and the impact on the family.
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On 01/26/2023 and again around 01/29/2023, Rochester’s family and supporters demonstrated outside the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office after Bates declined prosecution. Danielle Brown publicly challenged the decision and criticized the choice not to charge after the IID findings.
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CIVIL LAWSUIT AND CURRENT LITIGATION POSTURE:
In 2025, Danielle Brown filed a federal civil case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland against multiple defendants including the Baltimore Police Department and Officer Murray over claims arising from Rochester’s death. A memorandum opinion dated 10/08/2025 granted the City’s and the State’s motions to dismiss, and granted in part and denied in part the motions to dismiss filed by BPD and Officer Murray, allowing parts of the case to continue.
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ADMINISTRATIVE STATUS AND DISCIPLINE:
Public reporting around the charging decision stated the involved officers were placed on administrative duty during the review period. I did not find a definitive public resolution stating final internal discipline outcomes in the sources reviewed.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://oag.maryland.gov/resources-info/Documents/pdfs/IID/021922_IID_Report.pdf
https://oag.maryland.gov/resources-info/Pages/police-involved-incidents.aspx
https://apnews.com/article/a900c50e67e01dc49b3d151b71f3be15
https://www.wbaltv.com/article/donnell-rochester-family-protest-officers-not-charged/42675842
https://www.wmar2news.com/local/mother-of-slain-teen-voices-frustration-with-saos-decision-to-not-pursue-case
https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/protesters-march-to-baltimore-city-hall-demanding-justice-for-donnell-rochester
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/maryland/mddce/1%3A2025cv01331/581378/36/