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Officers from the Anne Arundel County Police Department responded at approximately 4 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 30 to the 900 block of Danville Court in Crofton, where there was a report of a woman having a domestic dispute with her son, Dyonta Quarles, Jr., who refused to let her leave a bedroom.
Upon arrival, the woman advised officers that she could not get to the front door and instructed them to enter the house, where they found her and Quarles in an upstairs bedroom.
According to investigators, officers gave Quarles commands to get on the ground, to which he initially complied, however, he then proceeded to sit back up on a bed, and ran out of the bedroom, tackling Officer Jonathan Ricci to the ground while repeatedly punching him in the head.
Officers were able to pull Quarles off Ricci, but as they were attempting to hold him on the ground and put him in handcuffs, he bit Ricci and did not let go, prompting him to pull out his weapon and shoot Quarles to slow the attack.
Police body-cam footage of the incident can be viewed here (viewer discretion advised).
Quarles was pronounced dead at the scene, while Ricci “who was in and out of consciousness,” was taken to a hospital and treated.
On Oct. 3, the Independent Investigations Division of the Office of the Maryland Attorney General (IID) announced that the state’s attorney has decided not to prosecute the case.
“The IID’s report contains detailed investigative findings and an analysis of relevant legal issues,” officials said. “Because the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney’s Office - not the IID - retains prosecution in this case, the report does not make any recommendations as to whether any individual should or should not be charged.”
A copy of the investigative report can be found here.
“By law, the IID's report must remain confidential until any related prosecution is completed or the State’s Attorney’s Office declines to prosecute.”
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