Days after Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates criticized a judge’s decision to acquit a Baltimore County Police corporal of second-degree assault and other offenses, prosecutors have dropped the charges against three other officers accused of failing to intervene in the case.
Officers Justin Graham-Moore, Jacob Roos and Thomas Desmond were standing nearby Cpl. Zachary Small on Sept. 27, 2023, when he pepper-sprayed a shackled and handcuffed man in the back of a patrol vehicle multiple times and later held him by the hair.
Small testified that he acted to gain compliance and achieve legitimate law enforcement objectives.
Graham-Moore, Roos and Desmond were each charged with misconduct in office.
The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office alleged the three lower-ranking officers had failed to intervene as required under the Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021, a reform that lawmakers passed after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis that mandates officers to “prevent or terminate” a use of force beyond what’s legally authorized. The provision went into effect on July 1, 2022.
Circuit Judge Paul E. Alpert on Sept. 18 acquitted Small, commenting that the case was not “the second coming of George Floyd or Freddie Gray.”
Later that day, Bates issued a statement in which he called Alpert an “89-year-old former Baltimore County judge who appears to be out of touch with the state of policing in 2024.”
Bates said the acquittal “created legal challenges that limit our ability to proceed with the remaining officers’ prosecutions.”
“We remain committed to transparency and justice and are truly saddened that we could not secure justice in this case,” Bates said in a statement.
Roos’ attorney, Oana Brooks, said it was unfortunate that her client had to wait months for what she described as a “predictable outcome.”
“The evidence was never there to convict my client. And this case should’ve never been charged,” Brooks said. “He’s looking forward to returning to work and continuing to serve the citizens of Baltimore County.”
She described the charges as a “politically motivated indictment.”
“There are few things more dangerous in the criminal justice system than a prosecutor that starts out with what he or she wants the outcome to be, and disregards the facts, the evidence — or lack thereof — in the law to reach the outcome that he or she wants,” Brooks said.
Brooks brought up how the state’s attorney held a news conference about the charges before speaking with the man who was in custody.
Prosecutors wield all the power, she said, and have a duty to ethically act and follow the evidence and the law.
Brandon Patterson, Graham-Moore’s attorney, said his client is “thrilled that this whole ordeal is over” and “anxious to get back to his job.”
Though Patterson said prosecutors might have had good intentions, he did not think that the facts supported the indictments from the beginning.
“My client is glad to have this behind him,” Patterson said. “I don’t think charges should’ve been brought in the first place, but that’s not my job to make that call.”
Desmond’s attorney, Granville Templeton III, could not on Wednesday be immediately reached.
Despite the recent developments, local authorities are still obligated by law to complete their ongoing administrative process, Baltimore County Police spokesperson Joy Lepola-Stewart said in an email.
“The men and women of the Baltimore County Police Department remain committed to serving our communities while upholding the Department’s core values of integrity, fairness, and service,” she said. “In addition, the Department will remain focused on its members’ development and professional growth to ensure the highest standard of service continues to be delivered.”
The county’s civilian review board, called the Administrative Charging Committee, also reviewed the officers’ actions. The committee found that Small’s use of force was unnecessary, the lowest possible category of violation behind unreasonable, excessive and brutal, respectively.
“Their findings are consistent with the court’s findings that Cpl. Small’s actions did not even come close to a violation of criminal law,” said Brian Thompson, one of Small’s attorneys, in an email.
The corporal disagrees with the committee’s findings, he said, and intends to appeal to a trial board.
