Baltimore Police Officer Seen on Video Punching Man Is Charged With Assault

A Baltimore police officer who resigned this week after a video showed him repeatedly punching a man has been charged with assault and misconduct in office, Baltimore City’s state’s attorney announced Tuesday.

A grand jury indicted the former officer, Arthur Williams, on charges of first-degree felony assault, second-degree misdemeanor assault and misdemeanor misconduct in office, Marilyn Mosby, the state’s attorney, said during a news conference.

“We considered a great deal of evidence” in addition to the viral video that showed the episode, Mosby said. She declined to elaborate, calling the case a “pending criminal matter.”

Williams could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The charges stem from an episode Saturday afternoon in which Williams and his partner were on duty when they encountered Dashawn McGrier, according to the state attorney’s office. The situation escalated when McGrier refused to provide identification, the police said. Both McGrier and Williams are black.

In a video of the episode, Williams repeatedly punches McGrier and knocks him to the ground.

The Baltimore Police Department announced late Sunday that Williams, who had been hired May 2017, had resigned from his position.

At a news conference Monday, Gary Tuggle, the Police Department’s interim commissioner, described the video as “extremely disappointing.”

A lawyer for McGrier, Warren A. Brown, said in an interview Tuesday that he felt the charges brought against Williams were appropriate.

“She should treat him like any other person who is on video pounding away at a defenseless person,” he said of Mosby.