MIDDLE RIVER, MD – State investigators have identified the woman killed in a Baltimore County police shooting in Middle River and the officer who fired the shot after police were called to check on an armed woman wanted in an assault case.
The Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General said the decedent was Sadie Holman, 21, of Odenton. The officer involved was identified as Cpl. James Haddix, an eight-year veteran assigned to the Baltimore County Police Department’s Operations Bureau.
The shooting happened Thursday, Sept. 3, and remains under active review by the state investigative unit.
Police were dispatched to Carroll Island Road before sunrise
According to Baltimore County police, officers responded around 6 a.m. to the 1000 block of Carroll Island Road after a call to check on a woman who was armed and wanted in an assault investigation.
When officers found the woman inside her vehicle, they began speaking with her. Police said she then handed over a knife, which became part of the contact between her and the officers at the scene.
The encounter escalated after that, and one officer shot her. Authorities have not released additional details about what led immediately to the gunfire.
What investigators say happened inside the vehicle
Police said the woman later produced a firearm while officers were talking with her. That is when one officer fired at her, leading to the fatal shooting.
The Baltimore County Police Department said no officers were injured. Investigators also recovered a firearm from inside the woman’s vehicle after the shooting.
Those are the main facts released so far about the moments before and after the shooting. The investigative division has not announced any findings about whether the force used was justified.
Cpl. James Haddix was identified as the officer involved
The Baltimore County officer involved was named as Cpl. James Haddix, who has served on the force for eight years. He is assigned to the department’s Operations Bureau.
Officials have not said whether Haddix was the only officer to fire or whether other officers were present when the woman was shot. The county police department has said only that one officer fired.
Identifying the officer is part of the normal public accounting that follows a police shooting investigated by the state’s Independent Investigations Division.
The Independent Investigations Division is leading the review
The Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division handles inquiries into fatal police encounters in the state. In this case, it is reviewing the circumstances of the Middle River shooting.
Investigators are asking anyone with information to come forward, including people who may have cellphone video or footage from private security cameras. The division said such material could help clarify what happened before the shot was fired.
People with information can contact the IID at 410-576-7070 or by email at [email protected].
Questions remain as the case moves forward
So far, authorities have released the identities of the woman and the officer, along with a brief account of the initial response and the discovery of the firearm. They have not said what led to the assault call or what happened earlier in the day.
The investigation remains open, and the attorney general’s office has not announced a timeline for completing its review. For now, the confirmed details are limited to the location, the names of those involved, and the sequence that police say ended in a fatal shooting.
As with other officer-involved deaths reviewed by the IID, additional findings would likely depend on witness accounts, video, and other evidence gathered by investigators.
