A Baltimore City police officer threw a 53-year-old handcuffed man on a concrete sidewalk and then dragged him by his feet to a police cruiser shortly before throwing a punch at his face, according to a video tape obtained by The Examiner.

Have more to say? Share your comments on this video and article by sending an email to feedback@examiner.com.

The officer then charged the suspect, Glen Curry, with resisting arrest, trespassing and heroin possession, according to court records. The incident occurred near an apartment complex owned by Edgewood management in the 1500 block of Pennsylvania Avenue on Aug. 26 as pedestrians walked by, according to court records.

Police said the apartment complex is “used heavily for narcotics distribution.”

This story continues below
Advertisement

Curry, the manager of Cut Rate Bar and Lounge in the city, said he was stopped by police after he left his apartment.

“He asked me, ‘What are you doing here?’ ” Curry told The Examiner. “I told him I lived here,” he said. “I was scared. I didn’t even know why I was being arrested.”

Curry said the officer handcuffed him, hit him in the jaw, then knocked him to the ground. He said his jaw was hurt, but he did not seek medical attention.

Court records said Curry attempted to pull away from the officer but “was quickly placed in cuffs without further incident.”

The video appears to dispute the police account of the incident. When the video is slowed down to view a frame-by-frame account of the incident, it shows the officer raising his fist at Curry after the suspect has been placed in handcuffs.

Curry then falls forward, with his ball cap falling off, then the officer throws Curry to the ground and then drags him a few feet, the video shows.

Another officer observes the incident but does not intervene. Officer Vincent Fox is listed in the charging documents, but it’s not clear if Fox is the same officer who threw Curry to the ground.

Curry’s attorney, Granville Templeton III, said that the officer “should be prosecuted; clearly my client was assaulted.”

Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, president of the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP, who viewed the video at The Examiner’s offices, said the case demonstrates why the police and community are at odds.

“Its a clear case of police brutality,” Cheatham said. “This is what puts a wedge between us.”

Curry disputed the possession of heroin charge. “It’s not true,” he said.

Baltimore city police spokesman Matt Jablow said Curry possessed a gel cap that tested positive for heroin.

“I have no report of excessive force,” Jablow said.

For Curry, the experience has so shaken him that he is planning to leave Baltimore.

“I want to get as far away from here as possible,” he said.

He will have to wait. He has a court appearance scheduled later this month.

On the Web

To view the video, go to http://www.examiner.com/documents/BA-examiner/policeWeb.mov

sjanis@baltimoreexaminer.com