Nov 4, 2009 5:26 pm US/Eastern
Md. Man Throwing Rocks At Drivers Shot By Trooper
ELKTON, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Dirvers along Route 40 in Cecil County got a major scare Tuesday night when a man began throwing large rocks at their cars.
CBS
Dirvers along Route 40 in Cecil County got a major scare Tuesday night when a man began throwing large rocks at their cars. That man is now in Shock Trauma after being shot by a state trooper.
Derek Valcourt explains why police say they had to shoot him.
Along Route 40 in Cecil County just west of Red Toad Road, Maryland State Police searched for a gun they say Clyde Patterson may have been carrying. Police say Patterson was walking east on Rt. 40 Tuesday night when he threw rocks at passing traffic, hitting three cars.
The owner of one of the cars he struck stopped to confront Patterson. That car owner told police Patterson, 50, threatened him with a gun.
Drainage rocks along the side of Rt. 40 gave Patterson plenty of ammunition as he started hurling them at the cars passing by and then at the state troopers who tried to stop him.
A state police car is one example of the damage. Luckily, police and drivers of the other cars he hit with rocks were not hurt.
Police say Patterson was a voluntary resident at the Perry Point VA Medical Center, which provides mental health care to Maryland's veterans.
"I'm not at liberty to talk about any patient's specific information and that's a general rule in the health care field," said Dr. Marsden McGuire.
Medical center officials say the residential programs are usually three to four months in duration. They would not say why Patterson left the massive medical campus or what he was doing on the side of Rt. 40.
"They agree to a certain set of expectations and one of those is that if you want to leave for legitimate purposes, that's fine, but you'll sign in and sign out. We have systems for making sure that they do that and making sure that we know where they are at all times," McGuire said.
Trooper First Class James Parker, who fired the shot, has been placed on routine administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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