Baltimore County officer indicted on assault charges from incident involving detainee
BALTIMORE - A Baltimore County Police corporal is facing assault charges in Baltimore after an incident involving a detainee last fall.
Three officers were indicted and have been suspended, according to the police department.
The grand jury indictments are from an incident outside of Johns Hopkins Hospital in September 2023.
Court records show that Corporal Zachary Small is charged with assault and reckless endangerment stemming from an incident with a suspect who was already handcuffed and detained inside a patrol car.
Baltimore City prosecutors allege a suspect complained the patrol car was getting too hot, saying "I cannot breathe."
Small is alleged to have sprayed the suspect nine times in the face before closing the door.
"It's troubling when you have a handcuffed suspect who is complaining of breathing and other issues," said Randallstown NAACP President Ryan Coleman.
Coleman told WJZ he saw a video of the incident.
"Being pepper sprayed in a car is an issue," Coleman said.
According to the indictment, Corporal Small then threw the suspect onto the ground, yanking his head and neck back and forth by his hair, telling him multiple times, "You asked for it."
In 2011, then-officer Small was honored as a top cop at the White House for saving a man in a house fire.
Small and two other county officers are also charged with misconduct in office.
Small's attorney says Small has been a Baltimore County Police officer for nearly 20 years, and before that, he served for six years in the U.S. Army.
"Like all citizens, Officer Small is entitled to the presumption of innocence," the attorney said in a statement. "I would ask that everyone reserve judgment on this case until the evidence comes out at trial. When that happens, I am confident that he will be fully exonerated."
Baltimore County Police officers are listed as witnesses in the case, and a spokesperson says the police department is cooperating with the investigation.
"They took quick action," Coleman said. "They're the ones who said, 'Hey something ain't right here.' They're the ones who started an investigation."
"The Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office said they have no comment on the charges, but a press conference is planned for Tuesday.
