Teen shot by police now facing charges

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - The teenager who was shot by a Providence Police officer is now facing several charges.

Jaylon Baker was shot through his right arm Saturday night on Wesleyan Street as he ran from police.

Providence Police say Officer David Allen fired the shot that injured Baker.

Officer Allen, who is assigned to the Violent Crime Task Force, was patrolling the area of Comstock Avenue Saturday when police said he spotted two men, prompting them to flee the area.

Allen says both men were armed and were ordered to drop their weapons, but they kept running. The foot chase crossed Harvard Avenue where the two men split up and Officer Allen followed Baker.

According to Officer Allen's account of the events Baker then pointed his gun at Allen, prompting Allen to fire three shots.

Baker continued to flee and ended up tangled inside a fence on Wesleyan Avenue, where he was taken into custody and transferred to Rhode Island Hospital for treatment.

Police say they recovered a pistol with an un-readable serial number nearby on Harvard Avenue.

The Rhode Island Attorney General's Office and the Providence Police Force Investigation Team responded to the scene to investigate.

Despite police accounts of the shooting, witnesses told an Eyewitness News crew that Baker was unarmed when he was shot by police. Baker's father, who said his son was released from a youth detention center just hours before the shooting, thinks officers targeted his son over a previous dispute.

Baker is now facing several charges:

• Possession of Ammunition by a Minor
• Possession of a Pistol without a License
• 2 counts of Felony Assault on Officer Allen
• Possession of a Firearm by a Minor
• Possession of a Firearm with obliterated serial numbers

Baker was ordered held without bail until the next session of family court. He is currently at the Rhode Island Training School.

The investigation into the shooting is now underway and could span several days.