Following her retirement after more than 20 years with the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office, Jackie Conway was looking for something to keep herself occupied.

So Conway started delivering food part time through DoorDash. She said she enjoys meeting people and having conversations with them. And the side gig was also a way for her to earn extra money to help her five grandchildren.

But on Oct. 29, Conway was delivering food to a townhome on Edgewood Road in Towson when she said a customer opened the door and exposed himself.

Conway called 911. But Baltimore County Police later arrested her on charges of first- and second-degree assault in the encounter.

“All that work I did in public service was just gone in that moment,” Conway said. “It was just gone.”

More than three weeks after her arrest, Conway appeared on Friday in the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore County in Towson where prosecutors dropped the charges.

Now Conway, 60, of Baltimore, has put the Baltimore County Police Department on notice that she intends to file a lawsuit. Her attorneys, J. Wyndal Gordon and Raouf Abdullah, allege that the arrest of their client, a Black woman, is suggestive of racial or gender discrimination.

“Emotionally, it’s destroyed her. She’s embarrassed, humiliated, offended,” Gordon said. “It’s just a very disturbing situation that absolutely should’ve never happened.”

Abdullah said the arrest “permanently tarnishes her career.” Conway, he said, was the first woman in the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office to attain the rank of captain.

“She has an arrest history, which is extremely disturbing for someone in law enforcement,” Abdullah said. “Even though this gets dismissed, that blemish remains forever.”

In an email, Joy Stewart, a spokesperson for the Baltimore County Police Department, said the agency is “unable to comment on open litigation.”

Conway said the man she encountered during the DoorDash delivery was not wearing pants or underwear, and she went back to her SUV. She said when the man aggressively approached the vehicle, she retrieved her Glock 27 but kept the gun in a low-ready position — or pointed downward toward the floorboard.

She has a wear and carry permit, which she provided to police. Conway also told them that she was a retired captain in the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office.

Meanwhile, the man, 21, reported that he came to the door wearing an oversized T-shirt and boxers, police allege.

The man told officers that he saw Conway sitting across the street in her vehicle, police assert, and walked toward her after she did not respond to his text messages. He said he yelled at her and questioned why she was still there.

Next, Conway said, “Get away from my car before I put a bullet in you,” police claim. The man thought she was holding a Taser. He reported that he put his hands up, turned around and quickly walked back toward the house.

The man has not been charged with a crime. He could not be reached for comment.

Conway disputes a lot of the details in the statement of probable cause.

She called for those involved in her arrest, Officer Jasmine Jeffry and Sgt. Bryan McDowell, to be suspended. Police, she said, took her to the Towson precinct for several hours.

“I was providing a service to someone,” Conway said. “And they come and lock me up.”

Neither Jeffry nor McDowell could be reached for comment. The president of the Baltimore County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 4, Dave Rose, also could not be reached.

In a case report, Jeffry wrote that a district court commissioner determined that there was “no probable cause” for the charges against Conway.

Jeffy said she reached out to Baltimore County Assistant State’s Attorney Samuel Dominick III to review the case. That’s because she said the evidence “highly suggested” that the arrest of Conway was “made prematurely and without a completed and thorough investigation of all possible facts.”

Dominick confirmed that prosecutors would be dismissing the charges against Conway “as he agreed there was no intent of malicious criminal action(s) on her part during this incident that could constitute or require criminal prosecution against her, by the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office,” Jeffry said.

On the morning after the arrest, Jeffry texted Conway.

“I was the primary Officer on yesterday’s incident,” Jeffry said. “I want you to know that I was expressed my concerns with my direct supervisors this morning.”

Police, she said, would be reaching out to the state’s attorney’s office. Law enforcement was “also hoping to pursue charges against the young man that exposed himself to you yesterday.”

Jeffry said she’d contact Conway with an update after speaking with the state’s attorney’s office.

Next, Jeffry wished Conway a wonderful morning. She said they would talk soon.