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A Baltimore police officer has been charged with assaulting a man on crutches who allegedly refused to wear his face mask properly.
A grand jury has charged Constable Andre Maurice Pringle with one count of second degree assault and one count of misconduct in the office after pushing and slamming Brandon Walker to the ground outside a grocery store Shoppers on April 19.
The incident occurred after Walker allegedly entered the store with his face mask on top of his head, the Baltimore city attorney’s office said in a press release. Governor Larry Hogan had issued an executive order requiring people to wear face masks or face masks due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Walker, who used a crutch and had a cast on his right foot, refused to lower the mask over his mouth and nose, according to the statement and the indictment. A store manager called Pringle, who worked in the store, for help.
“Officer Pringle, who was wearing the BPD uniform at the time, approached Walker and told him he had to leave the store,” prosecutors said. “The two started walking towards the exit. Walker was yelling and cursing Officer Pringle as they continued towards the automatic entry / exit doors.”
Once in the hallway, Walker stopped and “looked” at Pringle, prosecutors said. The officer reportedly grabbed Walker by his jacket, pushed him outside, then threw him to the ground, face first, causing Walker to hit his head on the sidewalk.
Pringle then climbed onto Walker and bent his left leg upward, prosecutors said.
“The contact which began with the push and continued during the arrest resulted in intentional, harmful, offensive and unwanted contact by Constable Pringle,” the statement said. “The physical assaults were neither accidental, nor consensual, nor legally justified”.
A woman who answered a phone number listed for Pringle said she would not comment on the case. It is not known if the officer has a lawyer and the Baltimore Police Department could not be contacted immediately Thursday.
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