A Baltimore County police officer was repeatedly punched in the face by a 19-year-old man Thursday after responding to a home in Halethorpe, the department said Friday.
The officer, identified as Officer First Class J. Myers, was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center and later released, police said.
Police identified the suspect as Franklin A. Rider, of Halethorpe. He faces charges including first-degree assault, assault on an officer, and resisting arrest, according to online court records.
Police said officers went to Rider's home in the 1900 block of Halethorpe Avenue about 6:30 p.m. Thursday for a call of a disturbance, and his mother told them he was "destroying the house." Rider fled when officers called out to him, police said.
Outside the home, officers ordered Rider to drop what they believed were a gun and a knife in his hands. Rider dropped the items – which turned out to be scissors and a lighter shaped like a handgun, police said. Rider then allegedly began to punch Myers, and police say Myers then pepper-sprayed Rider so he could be arrested.
Investigators believe Rider was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He was being held at the county detention center on $50,000 bond and had no attorney listed in court records.
Myers has been with the department about three years and is assigned to the Wilkens precinct.
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