sergeant tim palmer explained to us why the department uses them. >> it's a tactic used to raise the intensity of the training, gift officer of being in a feeling where they can feel the projectile. >> reporter: many officers testified to that. at the training facility off harford road, in order to check out the gun, officers had this hand over their department issued firearm and any live ammo. it's still a strict operating procedure. what is not standard is where tuesday's training was held. many high level sources said they never heard of training at the old mental hospital in owings mills and perhaps that mechanism may not have been followed to a t. if true that may explained you had an officer walked in with a real gun, a possible lax of discipline in an unregulated state site that has commissioner batts as furious as he is curious. >> i understand it. i get it. you guys want answers to the questions. i probably have more questions than you have. it's just going to take time to get those answers to those questions because, for me, it's unacceptable. >> we all need answers to thes

elizabeth palmer reached tim timbuktu behind the french advance. >> it was a victory lap for french president francois hollande. >> the troops he sent into mali three weeks ago chased islamic extremist out of timbuktu to the relief and joy of the inhabitants. >> the extremists not only terrorized the people with public lashing and executions they also desecrated the heritage of this ancient desert trading post. its elaborate mud brick mosques are protected by the united nations and so were its tools built for islamic saints nearly 700 years ago. >> is this the original. >> a local resident show showed me two of them now in ruins. >> last spring the extremists decided they weren't islamic enough and sent in a wrecking crew. >> we were heart heartbroken sidi told us but when we protested they fired their guns in the air to drive us away. >> at timbuktu's library the extremist turned to arson just before they fled in january. torching some of the 300,000 ancient arabic documents. >> but today the librarians have good news for france's president, the timely arrival of his army meant less than one