A Maryland man put two veteran police officers in the hospital as they tried to subdue him during a child custody dispute. The 28-year-old father was arrested. His bond for the incident was originally set at $40,000, but was reduced to a $10,000 bail. It’s unclear whether he is still in jail at this time.
The father arrived at his girlfriend’s home in the early morning hours and demanded to see his son. The man was kicking and beating the door, while screaming, and his girlfriend didn’t let him in the home. She later told police that he was previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had been drinking.
Police officers who responded to the call were injured during a scuffle when the father refused to leave the home. One officer, with more than eight years of experience with the local police department, suffered from a fractured hip and was airlifted to a trauma center in Baltimore.
The other officer was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. He suffered from a dislocated shoulder, but was treated at the hospital and then released.
The two officers worked together to subdue the father, despite their injuries. The officer with the broken hip was able to crawl to his partner so that they could use handcuffs to secure the father. Both officers used their own bodies to subdue the man until reinforcements arrived.
While visitation is typically in the best interest of the child, in this case, it seems as if the mother made the right decision in not allowing the father to see the infant. It’s unclear whether the mother has sole custody in this case, but a judge and attorneys for both sides will need to consider all the facts if either party requests an agreement modification.
Source: My Eastern Shore MD, “2 police officers injured after responding to domestic incident” Trish McGee, Apr. 14, 2014
