Photo by Marcellina

Photo by Marcellina

Update: Looks like the court ruled this morning Lawrence violated his stay-away order. He’ll be held until a retrial:

“The evidence showed that Mr. Lawrence continuously displayed a complete disregard and lack of respect for the court order and we are very pleased that his bond has been revoked,” Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said in a statement.

Original post:

The trial of a D.C. police officer accused of allegedly trying to kill his wife ended yesterday with a hung jury, the Post reports.

In December of last year, officer Samson Edwards Lawrence—a 23-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department—was indicted and charged “with two counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of assault, and two counts of possessing a dangerous weapon with intent to injure.”

According to court documents, Lawrence was arrested after an argument with his wife—who has a brain tumor—about hanging a TV escalated. He allegedly sprayed her in the face with Lysol, pushed her down, and allegedly hit her on the head with a metal lamp post.

But the trial didn’t end the way state prosecutors were hoping as it ended with a hung jury. From the Post:

The jurors were sent home Thursday evening. But attorneys are expected to reconvene Friday morning for a hearing to determine whether Lawrence violated a stay-away order outlined in his bond after he took his wife to the hospital for a medical issue recently, said John Erzen, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney.

During the trial, prosecutors played back the tape of the 911 calls that Lawrence and his wife’s daughter and a neighbor made. According to the neighbor’s testimony, Lawrence’s wife ran to the neighbor’s house crying and bleeding from her head. Her head injury required five staples, prosecutors said.

However, Lawrence and his lawyers argued that he didn’t hit her, that she was “scratching at his chest during the argument,” and that “he then pushed her and she fell down, hitting her head on the lamp, which was on the floor,” according to the Post.

Today, a Prince George’s County judge will listen to arguments that Lawrence possibly violated a stay-away order, which was issued as part of his bond. Meanwhile, the state prosecutors say they will ask the court to retry the case.

Filed Under: metropolitan police department, mpd, samson lawrence,