The Glenarden Police Department reports that a representative with the District of Columbia Advisory Neighborhood Commission was arrested and charged with assault the afternoon of Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Officers were dispatched to a Wegman’s grocery store located on the 9000 block of McHugh Drive around 1:30 p.m., after the commissioner’s girlfriend had called 911 to report that she had been both punched and bitten by the man.
In conducting an interview with the victim in this case, police were able to determine that the woman had been allegedly punched in her chest during a heated argument with her boyfriend. After being struck, the woman maintains that she grabbed the commissioner by the hair. This caused him to bite her hand. Her wound began bleeding as a result.
Once it had become evident that the woman had contacted police, the girlfriend asserted that the commissioner fled the scene. A United States Secret Service agent who had been having lunch at Honu Barbecue at the time was able to relay to police that the man had disappeared into the restaurant’s bathroom. Glenarden Police knocked on the door and asked the man to come out.
Upon opening the door to the restroom, the commissioner questioned police as to why they were looking to speak with him. When they told him that he was under arrest, he is alleged to have become not only become verbally abusive with officers, but to have begun physically resisting his arrest. The police report in this case reflects that officers were required to use what has been described as significant force in handcuffing the man.
The commissioner in this case has been charged with both disorderly conduct and second-degree assault for his alleged actions toward both police and his girlfriend in this case. It’s unclear when he’s expected in court next.
If convicted of these charges, there’s a strong chance that the man’s ability to hold political office could jeopardized. In collaborating with a Prince George’s County criminal defense attorney, he may be able to craft a defense to avoid a conviction in this case.
Source: WJLA, “Police: D.C. ANC Commissioner arrested after accused of punching and biting girlfriend,” June 07, 2017
