Video footage of a Baltimore County officer charged with assaulting a suspect shows him appearing to spit on the man’s head, police wrote in court documents.
Officer First Class Christopher M. Spivey is charged with second-degree assault in connection with the Jan. 25 incident. Police announced the charge Monday, saying Spivey kicked Diamontae Tyquan Farrar, 20, after a pursuit.
More details of the alleged assault are contained in court papers obtained Wednesday by The Sun.
Spivey, 29, has been with the department for about nine years and is assigned to the Woodlawn precinct. He is suspended with pay. An attorney for Spivey could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but previously told The Sun that Spivey took appropriate actions that day.
According to police, Farrar was a suspect in the theft of a 2003 Volvo taken from the parking lot of the Wegmans store in Owings Mills the morning of Jan. 25. Later that day, county officers saw the Volvo on Liberty Road, but said the driver sped away.
A Baltimore Police helicopter assisted in the pursuit and captured the incident on video. The pursuit and arrest are outlined in an application for a statement of charges against Spivey filed in District Court in Towson.
On Jan. 26, officials with the city police department’s internal affairs section contacted county police about a possible assault, police wrote in the court documents. City police handed over video footage from their helicopter.
The Volvo crashed into another vehicle near Liberty and Milford Mill roads, and Farrar ran from the car to a parking lot behind a business at Liberty and Ellen roads, police wrote in the court documents.
A Baltimore County police officer has been charged with second-degree assault after investigators say video footage from a city police helicopter showed him kicking a suspect on Liberty Road.
Officer First Class Christopher M. Spivey, 29, was served with a summons Monday morning in connection with…
A Baltimore County police officer has been charged with second-degree assault after investigators say video footage from a city police helicopter showed him kicking a suspect on Liberty Road.
Officer First Class Christopher M. Spivey, 29, was served with a summons Monday morning in connection with…
The video shows that Farrar stopped running and lay on the ground as officers approached him, according to the documents. An officer later identified as Spivey is seen running up to Farrar and kicking him in the upper body.
The officer is seen kicking Farrar twice more as Farrar was handcuffed by others, police wrote.
"The video does not show that Farrar is resisting arrest in any way," police wrote in the charging documents. "Farrar is in handcuffs and in complete control of the officers when the last kick was administered."
The video also shows Spivey lean over Farrar. "Spivey appears to spit on the head of Farrar," police wrote.
In an interview with Baltimore County internal-affairs detectives, Farrar said he was kicked by an officer during his arrest, and that one of the officers spit on him while he was on the ground, according to the court documents.
Police have not released the helicopter video, saying it is part of an ongoing investigation.
Farrar is being held without bond on charges in connection with the car theft and did not have an attorney listed in court records.
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