No Charges Against Officer Who Fatally Shot Man In Anne Arundel County: Report

CROFTON, MD — A police officer who fatally shot a man in Crofton will not face any charges, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh's office said Monday.

Investigators said it would be difficult to prove that the officer, Jonathan Ricci, was acting with too much force. They also reported that the 35-year-old officer has a case for claiming self-defense.

The attorney general's team said that the late man, 20-year-old Dyonta Quarles Jr. of Crofton, repeatedly punched Ricci and bit down on the officer's fingers.

Editor's note: The rest of the story includes graphic descriptions of the encounter.

The Shooting

The Anne Arundel County Police Department went to the 900 block of Danville Court on Jan. 29 around 9:43 p.m. after a woman asked 911 for an ambulance to take her son to the hospital. The mother told first responders that her son was "acting erratically" and "talking about wanting to go to heaven," officials said.

The son, later identified as Quarles, was calm and coherent in this first interaction with police. Quarles told officers he was unwilling to go to the hospital and would become violent if he was forced, investigators said. Officers, who wore active body cameras, left after they determined that they could not force Quarles to go to the hospital.

A different group of officers returned to the home on Jan. 30 around 4:05 a.m. when the mother called 911 to report another dispute, the release said. Dispatchers told responding officers that police were there for a mental health call the night prior, but they did not give any more details.

The mother told authorities her son, later identified as Quarles, would not let her leave the bedroom. The release said the woman told police she could not get to the front door, and she instructed the responding officers to enter.

Police forced entry. Authorities said Ricci entered the home with his gun drawn, but he eventually holstered the firearm and redrew it just before firing the shots. The officers found the mother and her unarmed son in an upstairs bedroom.

Officers ordered Quarles to get on the ground, and he initially complied. He then got back up and sat on the bed as officers approached him a few seconds later, Frosh's latest press release said.

Authorities said Quarles then ran out of the bedroom and tackled Ricci to the ground, repeatedly punching him in the head.

Other officers pulled Quarles off Ricci and held him on the ground. As they tried to handcuff Quarles, the release said Quarles bit down on Ricci's fingers and would not let go.

The release said Ricci yelled that Quarles was biting his finger off.

Officials said an officer used her taser, but it did not take effect.

Ricci urged officers to shoot Quarles, the release said. The officer that tased Quarles then drew her gun, but she did not shoot it.

Ricci then unholstered his department-issued gun and shot Quarles three times toward the center of the body, the release said.

Officers handcuffed Quarles. They started performing first aid and CPR on him about two minutes after the shooting. Medics pronounced Quarles dead on the scene at 4:36 a.m., authorities said.

The Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy two days after the shooting. The office ruled that Quarles' cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds with the manner being homicide, officials said.

Investigators said Ricci freed his fingers after the shots, collapsed onto the floor, started spitting up blood and fell in and out of consciousness.

Ricci went to an unidentified hospital in serious but stable condition, authorities said.

Ricci has worked for the Anne Arundel County Police Department for nearly 4 years. Ricci is assigned to the Bureau of Patrol, and he has 11 years of law-enforcement experience.

Ricci is white. Quarles was Black.

All four officers present for the shooting had active body cameras that recorded the incident. The footage of the deadly encounter is nearly 26 minutes long. The video is viewable here.

No Charges Pressed

The Independent Investigations Division of Frosh's office investigates all police-involved shootings in Maryland.

Frosh's team finished its investigation on Aug. 24 and sent it to the office of Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess on Aug. 30.

The county state's attorney has the final say on whether to prosecute the case. Frosh's report only stated the facts, and it did not recommend whether to charge Ricci.

The state's attorney on Sept. 7 decided not to prosecute the case. Under Maryland law, Frosh's team then had 30 days to announce that decision to the public. The attorney general announced Monday that no charges were filed.

Frosh's full report is posted here. The report includes more detailed accounts of the shooting.

Lawsuit Against Police Department

The Quarles family in August filed a seven-count complaint in the U.S. District Court of Maryland against the Anne Arundel County Police Department, WJZ reported. The news station said the family alleged that the shooting was a wrongful death and a violation of federally protected constitutional rights.

"My son was going through something," the mother said, according to WJZ. "I was asking for help—and my son was murdered."

The police department told WJZ that it does not have any comment on the lawsuit.

Related:

• MD Officials Release Video Of Fatal Police-Involved Shooting
• Crofton Police-Involved Shooting: Officials Delay Video Release
• Crofton Police-Involved Shooting: Victim, Officer Identified
• Police Fatally Shoot Son After Fight With Mom In Crofton: Update
• Man Killed, Officer Injured In Crofton Shooting: Report