A Prince George’s County police officer has been indicted by a grand jury for allegedly assaulting a civilian two years ago during a traffic stop in Capitol Heights that ended in arrest. The officer, Corporal Anthony Brooke, was charged last week with a misdemeanor for misconduct in office, according to the police department.
The department says Brooke had been suspended prior to the charge, and will remain suspended pending the outcome of the indictment. Brooke, who joined the agency in 2015, is among the fourteen officers who had been accused of working private security shifts while simultaneously reporting for police duty.
Criminal charges against the officers were dropped in January after the PG County State’s Attorney’s Office said the case “should be handled internally.” Prosecutors had insufficient evidence to move forward with the charges, reports the Washington Post.
The officers involved in the secondary employment case, including Brooke, had their police powers suspended by April 2021, and were assigned to desk duty, according to the Post. Brooke’s most recent charge stems from a traffic stop incident in February 2021. It’s unclear if Brooke was suspended for the two months following the traffic stop, but before the April suspension began.
The Prince George’s Police department did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The police department said in a statement that after reviewing all body camera footage from officers on the scene, their internal affairs unit referred the video to the State’s Attorney’s Office. The department’s own internal investigation into Brooke’s actions remains ongoing.
Brooke’s attorney William Brennan told the Post that he intends to plead not guilty for the misdemeanor, and will “vigorously contest the charges.”
Amanda Michelle Gomez