In the early morning hours of August 29, 2016, the community of Bel Air, Maryland, was once again the scene of a tense police standoff involving 42-year-old James L. Ward. This time, however, the encounter would end in tragedy. Law enforcement had been dispatched to his residence on Stratton Court after receiving a report of a suicidal individual. Upon their arrival, deputies were unable to make contact with Ward, a veteran officer of the Baltimore County Police Department.
As the hours
stretched on, a special response team and crisis negotiators were called to the scene in an attempt to peacefully resolve the situation. Roads in the vicinity were closed, and the start of classes at nearby schools was delayed as a precautionary measure. After numerous failed attempts to establish communication with Ward, law enforcement eventually gained entry into the home. Inside, they discovered James Ward deceased from what was determined to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. No shots were fired by law enforcement during this incident, and no one else was harmed.
This fatal incident was preceded by another volatile encounter just a few months earlier. In April of the same year, deputies had responded to the same address for a domestic dispute involving a suicidal and heavily intoxicated Ward. That situation also escalated into a barricade, during which Ward fired his weapon. In that instance, he was shot and wounded by deputies but survived his injuries. Following the April standoff, he was arrested and subsequently suspended without pay from his position as a police officer. The August standoff concluded a tumultuous period for Ward, ending with his suicide and leaving the community to grapple with the unfortunate outcome.
