Crime & Safety
Fatal Police Tasing: Prosecutors Won’t Charge Anne Arundel County Officer
An officer who tased a man won't face criminal charges in Anne Arundel. Officials said the man, 21, died weeks after running from police.
GAMBRILLS, MD — A police officer won't face criminal charges after tasing a man evading authorities last fall in Gambrills.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown's Independent Investigations Division evaluates all fatal uses of force by police. The Independent Investigations Division finished its analysis on March 29. The full report is posted here.
Investigators said Cpl. A. Stallings didn't commit a crime under state law by tasing 21-year-old Lavaughn Coleman of Crofton. The attorney general on Wednesday announced his decision to not press charges against Stallings.
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Stallings is a patrol officer with over 10 years of experience, the first press release said.
The Anne Arundel County Police Department on Oct. 29, 2023 responded to the 900 block of Waugh Chapel Way around 4:30 p.m. for a report of two men in a vehicle with guns and drugs, Brown said.
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The attorney general said officers ordered the two men out of the vehicle as they investigated.
The first man complied and was placed in handcuffs, officials said.
Brown said the other man, later identified as Coleman, initially complied and knelt as instructed.
When the officer then tried to place Coleman in handcuffs, investigators said he stood up and ran, striking the officer and knocking off his body camera and sending the officer to the ground.
Stallings ran after Coleman and told him to stop before tasing him, the attorney general said.
Brown said Coleman fell to the ground and hit his head on the pavement.
Investigators said officers gave first aid and requested medics.
The attorney general said Coleman was taken to an undisclosed hospital and later to a trauma center.
The attorney general said police notified Brown's Independent Investigations Division the day of the tasing.
Investigators said they took over the investigation on Dec. 7, 2023 because of updates to Coleman's condition.
Officials said Coleman died on Dec. 14, 2023 in the trauma center.
Brown said body cameras captured the encounter.
Related: Man Tased By Police Dies In Anne Arundel County: Investigators
This map shows the area where the attorney general said the tasing happened.
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