Maryland Attorney General issues status report on police involved deaths over the last year

BALTIMORE — The Maryland Attorney General's Office on Tuesday released a status report on the number of police involved death investigations over the last year.

In 2021 the General Assembly passed a law tasking the Attorney General's Office with investigating and reviewing all civilian fatalities that happened during encounters with police.

From October 1 of last year through September 30, 2022, there have been 23 such cases. Of those, 13 were as result of shootings, with seven others stemming from vehicle pursuits.

So far the office has issued one interim and 12 final reports. Local prosecutors have declined to criminally charge any of the officers involved. The report found that in 10 cases, the citizen killed by police was either armed with a gun or knife. There were five deadly encounters where the person was unarmed.

Maryland state law does not afford the Attorney General’s Office with the power to prosecute the involved officers.

Baltimore City Police led all law enforcement agencies in Maryland with the most officer involved fatalities during that time period (4), followed by Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties who each reported three.

WMAR has extensively covered each case handled by the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division. A majority of them include body-worn or dashboard camera footage.

Here is a list of articles on all 23 incidents.

1. On October 9, 2021 Jawuan Ginyard died after crashing his car during a police pursuit in the area of I-695 and Wilkins Avenue
2. On October 11, 2021 Jovan Singleton was killed after firing a gun at a Baltimore County Police Lieutenant in Woodlawn
3. On October 21, 2021 Jamaal Parish Mitchell died after crashing his car during a police pursuit in Salisbury
4. On November 13, 2021 Carlos Ortega was killed by an off-duty Baltimore Police sergeant, after he'd murdered two local barbers
5. On November 12, 2021 Danny Michael Holley Jr. died after being tased for allegedly assaulting a Frederick Police officer
6. On November 28, 2021 Anne Arundel Police killed Digno Ramon Yorro, Jr. after he allegedly murdered his mother
7. On December 29, 2021 Montgomery County Police killed Osman Sesay, who was a suspect in a prior shooting
8. On January 20, 2022 Inga Person died after the car they were in crashed during a police pursuit in Waldorf
9. On January 21, 2022 Amar Womack died while in the custody of Maryland State Police for an alleged drug violation
10. On January 30, 2022 Anne Arundel County Police shot and killed 20-year-old Dyonta Quarles, Jr. after he allegedly attacked an officer inside a home on Danville Court
11. On February 19, 2022 Baltimore City Police killed 18-year-old Donnell Rochester after he allegedly drove at an officer who was trying to arrest him on a warrant
12. On February 26, 2022 Noraly Paz Chavez, 26, died after crashing his car while eluding police in Montgomery County
13. On March 11, 2022 Darell Byrd, 50, died after crashing his car during a police pursuit it Charles County
14. On April 23, 2022 Harford County Sheriff's deputies shot and killed 53-year-old John Raymond Fauver following a long standoff in which he threatened to take his own life
15. On April 25, 2022 William Robert Brink was killed in a shootout with police in Somerset County
16. On May 4, 2022 Baltimore County Police killed Ralph Picarello after he allegedly lunged at officers with a knife
17. On June 4, 2022 Joseph Thompson, 66, was killed in a shootout with Baltimore County Police in Towson
18. On June 8, 2022 Jonny Morris, 66, died after being hit by a driver fleeing police in a stolen car in Prince George's County
19. On June 21, 2022 Terry Harrell was struck and killed by a Baltimore City Police cruiser in the area of E. Biddle Street and N. Milton Avenue
20. On July 20, 2022 Hamed Ghorouni Delcheh was killed after allegedly charging at a Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputy with a knife
21. On August 4, 2022 Eugene Douglas died after being restrained by a Baltimore City Police officer
22. On September 17, 2022 Anne Arundel County Police killed Anthony Hopkins, Sr. after he allegedly pointed a gun at officers
23. On September 19, 2022 Bryan Coupal, 75, was killed by Riverdale Park Police after threatening suicide and allegedly pointing a gun at an officer

The full report can be read here. Since being compiled, there have been three more police involved deaths. Two were shootings, the latest of which occurred on November 29.