Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's office Tuesday announced that a grand jury has returned an indictment against former police officer Arthur Williams, charging him with 1 count of first degree assault, 1 count of second degree assault and 1 count of misconduct in office.
Just 24 hours earlier, Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle suggested Williams could face second degree assault charges at a press conference where the Commissioner also announced the acceptance of Williams' resignation. The charges stem from an incident Saturday in which Williams was caught on what appeared to be public cell phone video, repeatedly punching 26-DaShawn McGrier.
At a press conference Monday, McGrier’s attorney, Warren Brown, said his client suffered a fractured jaw, ribs, swelling around his eye socket and ringing in his ears. Brown said his client and the now former officer Williams had a confrontation on June 26—one that saw McGrier arrested for interfering with an arrest and assault.
Mosby says an arrest warrant has been has issued for his arrest. Williams had been on the Baltimore Police force for about a year, and still on probation. Tuggle said because of that probation and brutality exception in his Law Enforcement Bill of Rights, he couldn’t fire Williams because he didn’t have the authority to do so. “I don’t know why that exception was created--I really don’t,” said Tuggle. “That’s state law. That’s something that [police departments] didn’t come up with.”