An Anne Arundel County police officer is facing investigation by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General after he critically injured a man in October with a Taser.
The office’s Independent Investigations Division said Thursday it is looking into the circumstances of the Oct. 29 incident involving an officer with 10 years of experience identified as Corporal A. Stallings, who is assigned to the Anne Arundel County Police Department’s Bureau of Patrol. The attorney general’s office did not release the officer’s full name.
Authorities say Stallings’ use of a Taser stun gun, which uses electrical currents to incapacitate people, sent an unnamed man to an area trauma center, where he remains in critical condition. County police notified the Attorney General’s office of the incident Oct. 29. The office assumed the investigation Dec. 6 after getting updates on the injured man’s condition.
A spokesperson for the department could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday evening.
State officials say county police officers responded around 4:30 p.m. to the 900 block of Waugh Chapel Way in Gambrills for a report of two men in a vehicle with guns and drugs. An initial review of the evidence showed officers arrived and ordered the two men out of the vehicle.
They handcuffed one of the people, an adult man in his teens. The other man initially complied with officers’ commands as they were attempting to put him in handcuffs, state officials said, but then stood and ran, striking the officer and knocking off his body-worn camera.
Officials said Stallings pursued the man and gave him a command to stop before firing his Taser and striking the man, who fell to the ground and hit his head.
Officers gave the man medical aid and requested emergency medical services, officials said. The man was taken to a local hospital and later to an area trauma center, where he remains in critical condition.
Officers on scene were wearing body cameras, which recorded the incident. The attorney general’s office will typically release body camera footage within 20 business days of an incident. That timeline could be extended if investigators need additional time to complete witness interviews, to shield identities of civilian witnesses or to allow family members to view the video before it is released to the public.
This story may be updated.
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