A woman in Western Maryland has obtained criminal charges against two more police officers, accusing them of playing a part in her alleged assault at a Hagerstown softball tailgate in May.
Anne Arundel County Police Sgt. Brandon Drabczyk and Maryland State Police Trooper Timothy Swigert face one count each of second-degree assault, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. They were charged Friday.
Their charges follow identical counts filed against Anne Arundel County Police Cpl. Kara Parks and her husband, Tracy Parks, earlier last week.
As in the cases against the Parkses, police did not apply for the charges. Rather, Julianna Frishkorn of Hagerstown swore out a statement alleging she was assaulted by the officers and others in their group. Court commissioners, who are judicial officers not required to have a law degree, rely only on the sworn statement of the person applying for charges.
The Anne Arundel County Police Department said in a statement Saturday that Drabczyk, a 19-year agency veteran assigned to the department’s Bureau of Patrol, has been suspended with pay pending an internal affairs investigation, like Parks.
The Police Department has said neither officer was on duty or in uniform at the time of altercation.
Maryland State Police spokesperson Elena Russo said Swigert, who has been with the state police since 2003 and is assigned to the Glen Burnie Barrack, has been suspended without pay while the agency’s Internal Affairs Division conducts an investigation.
“The members of the Maryland State Police are committed to serving and protecting the citizens of our state,” Russo said. “Under the leadership of Acting Superintendent Colonel Michael A. Jackson, accusations of conduct contrary to our core values will be thoroughly investigated.”
Kara Parks’ attorney Madeline Spencer did not respond immediately to a request for comment Monday. Defense attorney Chaz Ball, who represents Tracy Parks, declined to comment.
Drabczyk could not be reached immediately Monday. Reached by phone, Swigert said he could not comment and referred a reporter to his attorney John Doud.
Doud told The Banner he expects the charges to be dismissed eventually.
“I think once the facts come out I think it’s going to show that he didn’t do anything wrong,” Doud said of Swigert in a brief phone interview.
O’Brien Atkinson, president of the union representing Anne Arundel County police, defended Parks and Drabczyk in a statement Monday.
“Much like Cpl. Parks, Sgt. Drabczyk is one of our department’s most levelheaded and mild-mannered members,” Atkinson told The Banner. “Hopefully, the judicial system will sort this out quickly, but it looks to me like a targeted attack on law enforcement officers.”
Washington County State’s Attorney Gina Cirincione, whose office will ultimately decide whether to prosecute the officers and their associates, previously said her office was investigating the case. She could not be reached for comment Monday.
In May, Hagerstown Police charged Frishkorn with assaulting Kara Parks, Drabczyk and Swigert. In charging documents, police described Frishkorn and her sister, Jennifer Havens, as the aggressors in the altercation.
A judge in November acquitted Frishkorn of all charges, finding the evidence insufficient.
Havens also was charged with crimes at one point, but those charges no longer appear in online court records. When someone is acquitted or their charges are dropped, their case information is removed from online court records.
In her account, Frishkorn alleges that she was taking her service dog to the “designated dog waste station” at a Hagerstown hotel on May 25 when she encountered the officers, who were part of a tailgate of up to 46 people for a traveling softball team.
“I was asked not to walk through their group, after explaining why I needed to use the area, tension rose and the police were called,” Frishkorn wrote in the application for charges against Kara and Tracy Parks. “Police informed the party that I would need to be allowed access. The hotel manager told the party the same.”
Hagerstown police responded to the scene, but Frishkorn alleges the group began harassing her after the officers left.
Frishkorn alleges the situation escalated quickly, with Kara and Tracy Parks and some friends surrounding her. Frishkorn said she extended her arm to create space from the group “while screaming repeatedly to back away from me.”
“Kara then threw a punch at my face, as Tracy picked me up and threw me, causing me to fall back smashing the back of my head on the pavement,” Frishkorn wrote. “Once on the ground Kara and Tracy were kicking me and my service dog resulting in my dog ripping Tracy’s shorts nearly in half.”
It’s unclear from the brief narrative included in her application for charges what Frishkorn alleges Swigert did.
She wrote, however, that Drabczyk “attacked” her.
“Brandon restrained me, tackled me and would not allow me to get up off of my knees,” Frishkorn wrote in an application for charges against Drabczyk.
Frishkorn said she required an ambulance and that she received care for “head trauma, strangulation, breathing treatments and lacerations all over my body.”
That’s different from the account put together by Hagerstown Police, who said in Frishkorn’s charging documents that she and her sister were “instigating” the off-duty officers “all evening.”
Hagerstown police wrote that they reviewed footage from the hotel’s security cameras. They described a melee in court records but said Frishkorn’s and Havens’ accounts of what happened were “not consistent” with what the video showed.
Hagerstown officers said in charging documents that they saw Frishkorn and Havens arguing with Drabczyk and a woman by a black pickup truck. The footage showed Swigert went over to them, and he told Hagerstown police that he identified himself as an officer.
“Julianna [Frishkorn] begins arguing with Timothy [Swigert] and sticks her hand in his face, flicking him off. ... Jennifer [Havens] begins arguing and pushes Brandon [Drabczyk] on his chest,” officers wrote. “Brandon keeps Jennifer from fighting another female going after Jennifer. Timothy pulls Jennifer away as she is assaulting Brandon.”
Hagerstown officers said the video showed Frishkorn elbowing Drabczyk in the face repeatedly by “drawing her arm back to hit him.” After that, Drabczyk and Swigert allegedly restrained Havens on the ground, pulling her arms behind her back.
At some point, the video showed a “heavy man” in a gray shirt pushing Frishkorn back with his hand on her throat, according to charging documents. Another man pulled the man in the gray shirt away.
Later, Hagerstown officers wrote, Frishkorn could be seen starting an argument with Kara Parks and putting her hands in Parks’ face. Parks pushed Frishkorn’s hand away, before her husband pushed Frishkorn away, causing them both to fall to the ground.
“Kara then separates everyone from each other,” Hagerstown officers wrote.
Comments
Welcome to The Banner's subscriber-only commenting community. Please review our community guidelines.