The Prince George’s County state’s attorney’s office dropped assault charges against a 19-year-old man Tuesday after video surveillance footage conflicted with a veteran Prince George’s police officer’s claim that the man tried to reach for his gun and forced him to fire his weapon Friday in Brentwood.

The state’s attorney’s office dropped charges against Ryan Keith Dorm of Cottage City after video surveillance recovered from the scene shows evidence that “does not support” the original report of the incident involving Cpl. Donald Taylor and another officer on the scene, according to a Prince George’s County police release and Leslie Graves, a state’s attorney’s office spokeswoman.

Dorm was initially charged with second-degree assault and an attempt to disarm an officer. Graves said charges are still pending against Dorm in reference to the second officer, whom county police declined to identify Tuesday.

If Taylor and the second officer lied about the course of events, the penalty they face “runs the gamut” from fines to unpaid leave to dismissal, but the investigation is still preliminary, said Carlos Acosta, the inspector general for Prince George’s County police, during a Tuesday news conference.

The second officer has not been identified because police are still conducting interviews for the investigation, Acosta said.

Prince George’s police originally reported that two officers in the Special Investigative Response Team observed two men attempting to rob the Lowest Price Gas convenience store in the 3800 block of Rhode Island Avenue. When the officers tried to apprehend the individuals, Dorm allegedly ran.

The earlier police report stated that Taylor, a 13-year veteran in the Bureau of Patrol, caught up to Dorm, who tried to remove Taylor’s weapon before Taylor fired at Dorm and apprehended him.

The other suspect remained on the scene and was not charged, said PGPD spokesman Cpl. Larry Johnson on Monday.

Johnson said no one was struck from the discharged weapon and no one was injured. Acosta confirmed Tuesday the gunshot was in view of the camera but it did not hit anything.

Taylor remains suspended as the investigation continues, as does the other officer at the scene.

Taylor initially was placed on administrative leave per standard departmental policy when an officer discharges a weapon.

djgross@gazette.net

nmcgill@gazette.net