A Baltimore Police detective who was captured in a viral video arresting a man in 2019 in West Baltimore is not guilty of all charges against him, a judge ruled on Friday.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Philip S. Jackson acquitted Leon Riley IV, 31, of first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office following a two-day bench trial held earlier this week.

On Dec. 2, 2019, Riley was assigned to the Tri-District Action Team, a plainclothes unit tasked with finding guns, drugs and violent crime in portions of the Southern, Southwestern and Western police districts.

Riley got out of a police cruiser, approached a group of people standing in front of a vacant rowhome and an apartment building on West Lexington Street near North Vincent Street, and started asking them questions. Both properties had “No Trespassing” signs on them.

In body-worn camera video played at trial, Riley motions for David Dixon to come closer, asks, “Got anything illegal on you?” and grabs him. Dixon backs away and replies, “I don’t have nothing. What you grab me for?”

That’s when Riley’s partner, Sgt. Brian Flynn, jumps in to help. A struggle ensues.

A 45-second clip of the arrest — in which Riley has his arm around Dixon’s neck — went viral. Dixon cries out, “You choking me, sir. You choking me.”

In explaining his decision, Jackson said though Riley placed Dixon’s neck in a chokehold for about 15 seconds, the detective did not cause or attempt to cause serious physical injury.

“What is pellucidly clear from the videos is that intention of Riley was to force Dixon to comply with commands and cease his resistance, and no more than that. If his intention was otherwise, Riley would have continued the chokehold even after Dixon complied,” Jackson said. “He did not.”

Riley, he said, had reasonable articulable suspicion that Dixon was engaged in criminal activity and was allowed to stop him.

That’s because Dixon had been standing in front of two properties where he did not live, in an area known to be an open-air drug market. He was wearing a puffy coat, which had something in the pocket causing it to “balloon out,” Jackson said.

Because of the connection between guns and drugs, Riley, he said, “could therefore reasonably infer that perhaps what was causing that ballooning was a firearm.”

Though there was no evidence that Dixon committed trespassing, Riley was legally able to stop him based on the “suspicion of an armed suspect,” Jackson said. Riley, he said, also did not overreach in his authority.

Later, Jackson noted he was not a medical professional.

The state, he said, did not present any scientific or medical evidence that the detective’s actions presented a substantial risk of death of serious physical injury. Jackson contrasted what happened in the case with the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.

“Obviously, I could conclude that the prolonged asphyxiation as was visited on George Floyd could create a substantial risk of death or serious injury. That is self-evident,” Jackson said. “Not so the situation presented in this case, where the possible blockage of an airway was measured in seconds.”

Zy Richardson, a spokesperson for the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office, could not be reached for comment.

The Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 sent a tweet thanking its attorneys and membership for supporting one another “through these times of malicious prosecution of Baltimore cops.”

In her closing argument, Assistant State’s Attorney Kimberly Rothwell said Dixon was standing on the sidewalk minding his own business.

Riley, she said, neither had reasonable articulable suspicion to conduct a pat-down, nor is that what he did that day.

“Without any lawful reason, the defendant grabbed Mr. Dixon,” said Rothwell, who added that action itself constituted an assault. “But the defendant didn’t stop there. He kept escalating.”

Riley used a chokehold that violated department policy as well as the law, creating a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury, Rothwell said. No one, she said, saw Dixon punch, kick or hit Riley.

Rothwell said Dixon was “the smallest guy out there that day.” Police did not arrest anyone else on allegations of trespassing.

Her co-counsel, Assistant State’s Attorney Ernest Reitz, said in his closing argument that law enforcement never mentioned suspicions about Dixon having a gun in any of the numerous police reports.

Reitz said “No Trespassing” signs do not apply to the public sidewalk. People, he said, also have a right to resist an unlawful arrest.

Dixon was searching for his cellphone, which he eventually found, Reitz said.

But Chaz Ball, Riley’s attorney, contended that his client focused on Dixon because he had been exhibiting behaviors consistent with a person who was armed, which included making stealthy movements.

Riley tried to ask questions to further investigate and gain extra probable cause. He was attempting to conduct a pat-down, Ball said.

People, he contended, are not permitted to resist a stop — even if it’s unlawful.

Dixon later complained about everything from law enforcement using a Taser on him to lacking probable cause. But he neither mentioned, nor do medical records support, that he suffered injuries to his throat or neck. People were acting nonchalant during the struggle and even asked him at one point for a set of car keys, Ball said.

Police officers, he said, try to take people into custody as quickly as possible for everyone’s safety. Ball said these situations can be dynamic and difficult.

“It was an arrest. It was a struggle. It was difficult because Mr. Dixon did not want to be arrested,” Ball said. “This is good police work — trying to get guns and drugs off the street.”

Law enforcement recovered heroin and cocaine during the arrest. The state’s attorney’s office later dropped all charges against Dixon.

Dixon, 25, did not testify at trial. He was shot and killed on March 1 in the area of South Carey and West Baltimore streets in West Baltimore.

Outside the courtroom, Marlo Campbell, Dixon’s mother, lamented the acquittal but added that she was prepared for that outcome.

“He’s a police. It’s just that simple,” said Campbell, 51, a behavioral specialist. “And this is Baltimore.”

Campbell said her son was the smallest person standing on the sidewalk that afternoon and noted that he grew up in the neighborhood. She said she believed that he was scared.

Recounting the moment in the video when her son exclaimed, “You choking me, sir,” Campbell became emotional and cried.

She said she’s lost two other sons, Michael, and Samuel, in the last five years. They were all 25 when they died.

“It wasn’t right,” Campbell repeated twice. “I got to push and keep pushing.”

In a separate case, Riley faces charges of second-degree assault, perjury and misconduct in office stemming from allegations that he attacked two men, Stephon Martin and Sterlyn Butcher, and lied in a statement of probable cause on April 22, 2019.

The case is scheduled for trial on Dec. 1, according to online court records.

Campbell said she intends to attend the second trial. Kanisha Dailey, 28, a postal worker who has a 4-year-old daughter with Dixon, also sat in the courtroom.

Riley joined the Baltimore Police Department in 2012. He makes $78,844 but has been suspended without pay.

dylan.segelbaum@thebaltimorebanner.com

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