BALTIMORE — On Friday, former Baltimore Police Officer Arthur Williams was sentenced to 9 months in prison for misconduct in office and five years fully suspended for assault in the second degree.
According to the State's Attorney's Office, on August 11, 2018, at around 11:40 a.m., Williams and another officer were on duty when they approached a citizen and told him to "come here". The citizen repeatedly asked why he was being stopped and a confrontational exchange began between the citizen and officers.
The conversation escalated and Wlliams grabbed the citizens arm as he attempted to walk away. The officer requested that the citizen provide his identification and when the citizen asked why he needed to do that, Wlliams said that he shouldn't have tried to walk away.
Williams also explained that he wanted to write a “citizen contact receipt,” and when asked by the man why he was getting a contact slip, the officer dismissed the citizen’s questions and pushed him into the building.
The citizen then put his hand up to stop Williams from touching him, but WIlliams repeatedly punched him in the face and head multiple times.
According to the State's Attorney's Office, Williams repeatedly punched the victim and forced him into a set of concrete steps where Williams laid on top and continued to strike him.
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Following the incident, Williams reported to his Command Staff that he observed the victim possessing marijuana and advised him to put it away or leave.
However, this initial contact was not captured on any body-worn camera footage.
Williams claimed that he approached the victim with the intention of giving him a citizen contact receipt for the suspected marijuana and to recover the substance. However, no substance was recovered or submitted to the Evidence Control Unit for this incident.
The State Attorney said that Williams’ account of the incident included him giving the victim a “lawful order to stop” and hitting the citizen after he yelled in his face.
Williams reported that he continued to strike the victim in an attempt to place him under arrest.
Officials say there was no indication from any of the video recordings that the victim pushed the officer and that video recordings confirm that the victim, after being struck by the officer, did not resist or fight back.
The victim suffered multiple abrasions, as well as lacerations to his mouth. He was transported to the emergency room and admitted because he needed immediate medical attention as a result of the injuries he received during the physical altercation with Williams.
