Police Officer Charged In Apparent Road Rage Murder
A police officer was charged in the case of an apparent road rage murder in the shooting death of a man in Maryland. The officer, assigned to a county prosecutor’s office in New Jersey, is being held on $1 million bond.
The shooting happened on Saturday night, according to Maryland State Police. Joseph Walker, 40, allegedly killed Maryland resident Joseph Harvey Jr., 36, in an incident of road rage on Route 3 northbound near the intersection with Interstate 97.
Maryland State Police are still searching for the cause of the confrontation, which happened on the shoulder of the highway, south of Baltimore.
The apparent incident started about a mile south of where Walker allegedly shot and killed Harvey. While the victim was driving a green Honda Accord with one passenger, the police officer was driving a gold Kia minivan with his wife and three children.
Harvey and his passenger got out of the car and started walking toward the minivan, parked between 100 and 150 feet away. Walker fired and hit Harvey with a Glock.45-caliber handgun, according to a police statement.
Harvey was taken to Baltimore Washington Medical Center by ambulance, but was pronounced dead there of three gunshot wounds. Meanwhile, Walker was taken to the same facility after he complained of chest pains.
It is not clear when the Eastampton, New Jersey man was taken into custody for the alleged road rage murder. He is scheduled to appear before a court commissioner on Monday morning. The police officer was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with the shooting.
Gene Rubino, a spokesman for the Hudson County prosecutor’s office where Walker works, stated that the office is aware of the shooting, as well as Walker’s arrest. The officer was off-duty at the time of the incident. Rubino did not comment further on the situation.
It is unclear what started the incident that led to the apparent road rage murder.
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