‘Forgiveness was on my heart’: BPD sergeant left paralyzed by violence reacts to suspect’s sentence
By Kim Dacey
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BALTIMORE (WBAL) — It was a case that shook Baltimore to its core — an off-duty police sergeant was shot during an attempted robbery outside his home in northeast Baltimore.
On Monday, one of the men charged with the crime was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for that and a string of violence.
Sgt. Ike Carrington spoke with 11 News Tuesday and said his life is now dramatically different since the shooting three years ago.
He’s paralyzed and still recovering physically and mentally but is at peace now that the men who did this are behind bars.
“When I woke up from my coma, I forgave these guys. Forgiveness was on my heart,” Carrington said.
In Aug. 2019, Carrington was off duty and talking to a neighbor in front of his northeast Baltimore home when they were approached by a man with a gun.
“He advanced on me and just was shooting me he — hit me in my femur I thought I tripped but he hit my femur — and I fell, and I got shot several times in my back,” Carrington recalled.
Rashaud Nesmith, 21, is one of several men indicted and charged with multiple crimes as part of a gang — one of them — for shooting Carrington. Nesmith was sentenced in federal court to 40 years in prison as part of a plea deal.
“I guess you think is any time really enough. How much time can you give them by the time they’re out, they’ll be old men,” Carrington said. “They really need to think about these families they’ve altered.”
Carrington said his heart goes out to the gang’s other victims, especially the ones that didn’t make it. He said he hopes the case will be the turning point to ease the violence in the city he loves. A city he swore to protect and where he now finds himself a victim.
“I pray every day. My faith is strong, so I’m praying that I’ll walk again,” he said.
Carrington said he hopes to someday work with other victims to help be a part of the solution.
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