ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Maryland Attorney General could soon be granted new authority to prosecute police officers whose actions result in death or serious injury.
Back in 2021 the General Assembly passed a law tasking the Attorney General's Office with investigating and reviewing all civilian fatalities that happen during encounters with police.
That legislation however did not afford the Attorney General with the power to prosecute any officers involved, instead giving final say to local state's attorney's offices.
After being elected and sworn into office in January, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown lobbied the State Legislature to amend the law so he could make charging decisions. Earlier this week the House of Delegates, over Republican opposition, did just that sending it to Governor Wes Moore for final approval.
Since the law went into effect, the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division has investigated 37 such cases.
Of those, 18 reports have been released, none resulting in charges being filed.
MORE: Maryland Attorney General issues status report on police involved deaths over the last year
WMAR-2 News extensively covered each case handled by the Attorney General’s Office. A majority include body-worn or dashboard camera footage.
There's currently 10 police involved incidents pending in which local prosecutors have not yet made a charging decision.
- Linda Moss, 74, was killed in a Baltimore crash as her husband fled in a car wanted in connection to a robbery
- Alfred Fincher, 54, was killed after being run over by a driver fleeing Baltimore City Police in a stolen car
- Brian McCourry Jr., 37, was shot and killed by a Baltimore County Police officer after he rammed a cruiser in an attempt to avoid being arrested
- Julie Clark, 26, was killed in a crash following a high speed police chase in Cecil County
- Aaron Mensah, 23, was shot and killed by police in Frederick last November after allegedly killing his dad and stabbing his mother
- Tyree Moorehead, 46, was shot and killed by police in Baltimore City after holding a woman at knife point
- Kweli Murphy Al-Mateen, 17, was killed in a crash while being pursued by Baltimore City Police
- Anthony Hopkins Sr. was shot and killed by Anne Arundel County Police after pointing a gun at officers during a domestic violence investigation last October
- On July 20, 2022 Hamed Ghorouni Delcheh was killed after allegedly charging at a Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputy with a knife
- Terry Harrell, 58, died when a Baltimore City Police officer ran a red light and crashed into his scooter
