Cop Beats Teen And Accidentally Fires His Gun, Claims He Was Attacked

Police brutality and phony arrest reports are starting to seem more like the norm than the exception these days.  Remember the recent LAPD story about a cop allegedly going “Dirty Harry” on (somewhat) innocent citizens?  Not to be outdone, officers in Maryland are coming under fire after a surveillance video surfaced of them dishing out their own brand of police justice.

According to news reports, Ryan Dorm, 19, was hanging out with a friend at a gas station in Maryland when Prince George’s County cop Cpl. Donald Taylor saw something suspicious about the pair.  Dorm’s friend was wearing a ski mask allegedly because he was cold.  But apparently this was enough to set off Taylor’s cop senses.  Taylor supposedly tried to approach the duo, but Dorm allegedly decided to take off and Taylor pursued.  He eventually caught up to Dorm and arrested him, claiming he was attacked by the suspect.

Dorm was jailed for four months before his charges were dropped.  Why the sudden change of heart?  Because video of the incident was found that allegedly shows Taylor running up to Dorm and pistol whipping him while simultaneously discharging his gun accidentally.  Pretty damning evidence that Taylor’s previous account wasn’t exactly true.

Unsurprisingly, Dorm has now filed a multi-million dollar civil lawsuit for police misconduct and false charges.  And who can blame him, getting accused of any crime is bad, the only thing worst is if the charge isn’t true.

Officer Taylor is also facing hot water for his conduct.  He’s been charged with misconduct, reckless endangerment, and second-degree assault.  If convicted, he could get some serious jail time for these felonies.

However, as atrocious as Taylor’s alleged conduct may be, it’s not the most shocking aspect of this story.  We’ve all heard tales of cops protecting each other from prosecution.  The abuse of power is sickening considering these people have been entrusted with protecting society.  And Taylor’s case seems to be no less immune from this seemingly pervasive practice.

According to reports, an undercover cop was also accompanying Taylor at the time of the incident.  The cop also appears to be seen in the surveillance video, as well.  If true, this is evidence that not only was there an additional cop that was a witness to the events, but the other cop helped (or at least did nothing) to conceal Taylor’s action.  It’s not certain whether this officer knew that Taylor would allegedly file a false police report or if he corroborated Taylor’s story, but one thing for certain: shouldn’t this other cop be under investigation, too?

While details are sparse regarding the level of scrutiny Taylor is currently undergoing, his alleged conduct is an example of the type of systemic corruption that can sometime pervade police departments.  We’ve reported similar stories of officer misconduct in the past, and for those who care enough to follow up down the line, many of these cases result in the cops facing little or no punishment at all.  This is true even when the officers are found to have actually committed the actions they were accused of, since many of these matters are handled internally.

In fact, it seems like the only time the proper punishment is given out is when there’s sufficient media coverage and public outrage.  And even then, the results aren’t always all that fair.  It may seem like a very simple of solution, but shouldn’t it be policy rather than debate that if a cop files a phony police report they should be fired right away?  Doctors and attorneys can get their licenses revoked for less, yet for some reason the people charged with protecting the public are given more leeway to screw up.

Very odd indeed.  Hopefully, regardless of how Taylor is eventually adjudged, his punishment will fit the crime.