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Howard Co. Officer Arrested For Punching Female Cop In Canton

BALTIMORE (WJZ)— A night at a Canton bar ends with an off-duty Howard County police officer in handcuffs.

Kelly McPherson has more on what happened when police tried to make the arrest.

An off-duty Howard County officer is facing assault charges after a night of drinking in Canton.

Sources tell WJZ that prior to his arrest at 2 a.m. Sunday, 23-year-old Casey Lechter—a probation officer in Howard County for more than a year—was partying with friends and drinking alcohol.

Baltimore City police say he and Kary Williams created a rowdy scene on O'Donnell Street just as bars were closing, screaming that they hated cops.

A uniformed, on-duty city female officer tried to arrest Williams when Lechter punched her in the back of the head.

"They're supposed to be held to a higher standard and that's unacceptable," said Linnette Martinez. "And we've been seeing that lately coming up more and more, so it's very troubling."

People who were there at 2 a.m. say that the square essentially shut down. The streets were filled with ambulances and cop cars.

"It's a bad thing to hear about, and it's a bad thing for the community, and it's awful," said Michelle Bollino.

Police say Lechter and Williams both resisted arrest. Lechter was yelling that he was a cop, Williams was flailing his body and spraying blood on several officers from a wound on his head.

A passerby even helped pin Lechter down onto a parked car until other city officers arrived.

"This area is very exclusive and it's really sad that this would happen here," Martinez said.

"Everybody's peaceful and then you throw a couple of bad apples, the police come down here to try to break everything up and it causes a rough time," said Josh.

Howard County police say Lechter has been suspended.

Williams and Lechter have been charged with assault and resisting arrest. They will be in court later this month.

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