The Baltimore state's attorney's office has dropped two charges against a man who was pepper-sprayed by city police during the curfew imposed April 28 and whose encounter was captured on video that went viral online.
Larry Lomax, 23, had been charged with rioting, second-degree assault, disorderly conduct and curfew violation. The rioting and assault charges were dropped.
"I am very pleased that the state's attorney's office elected to dismiss some of the charges," Baltimore Deputy Public Defender Natalie Finegar said Tuesday after a hearing in District Court.
A spokeswoman for the state's attorney's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Finegar said she believes Lomax is innocent of all charges and expects that the state's attorney's office will soon drop the curfew charge.
Finegar had previously filed a motion to dismiss the curfew charge, contending that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake overstepped her authority by imposing the citywide curfew. City prosecutors have dropped charges against people who were charged only with curfew violations.
City activists had called on social media for supporters to attend Lomax's trial, and about a dozen supporters were in the courtroom Tuesday. At Finegar's request, Lomax's case was rescheduled for July 10 at the Wabash Avenue District Court.
Police allege in a statement of probable cause that Lomax "walked quickly" toward a police lieutenant "with his fists balled up tight in an aggressive manner yelling obscenities at the officers and daring them to arrest him," when an officer "discharged one blast" of pepper spray into Lomax's face.
Video of the incident shows that the sergeant pulled Lomax backward to the ground. It then shows officers dragging Lomax from the street to the sidewalk.
Police said in charging documents that Lomax's behavior "incited the crowd causing multiple other arrests."
The incident occurred at Pennsylvania and North avenues shortly after the 10 p.m. curfew had gone into effect. The curfew was imposed after rioting followed the funeral for Freddie Gray, who died after suffering a severe spinal injury while in police custody.
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