Maryland State Trooper Charged With Assaulting Arrestee

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -– A Maryland state trooper has been charged with assaulting a man who was being arrested following a car chase on Oct. 22.

The trooper is identified as 25-year-old Matin Dunlap, who has been a trooper since July 2013.

He is charged with one count of first degree assault, three counts of second degree assault, and two counts of misconduct in office.

The victim of the assault is identified as Dennis M. D. Donoghue, 55, of Riverdale. Donoghue was the driver and sole occupant of a Chevrolet Captiva that fled from Dunlap and other troopers attempting to stop it on I-95.

According to police, Donoghue was stopped on the right shoulder of northbound I-95 near White Marsh on the night of his arrest. Dunlap, who was assigned to the JFK Highway Barrack and was working patrol in a marked car, spotted the car and pulled up behind it.

As Dunlap walked up to the car, it pulled away. Dunlap called the barrack and began to follow the vehicle with his emergency equipment activated.

According to police, Donoghue turned off his vehicle lights and continued northbound, refusing to pull over as additional troopers joined the pursuit. While he was not driving at excessive speed, Donoghue was driving with his lights out and ignoring the emergency lights and sirens of the patrol cars, investigators say.

Troopers eventually deployed stop sticks that successfully deflated the car's tires. Donoghue's vehicle came to a stop along the highway south of Belcamp.

A trooper and corporal involved in the pursuit were the first to reach Donoghue and get him out of the car. They reported he was not fighting them, but was passively resisting and they were not immediately able to get him handcuffed.

While they were attempting to cuff him as he was lying on the ground, the troopers reported that Dunlap intervened and began jabbing the man repeatedly in the abdomen and side with a metal expandable baton. He also struck and injured the hand of one of the troopers trying to handcuff Donoghue.

The investigation found a State Police corporal grabbed Dunlap's baton in an attempt to stop him from striking Donoghue. The corporal reported Dunlap pulled the baton away and continued to jab the suspect. A State Police sergeant arriving at the scene forcibly pushed Trooper Dunlap away from Donoghue and ended the assault.

Donoghue did not request or require medical treatment, according to troopers who arrested him. He was taken to the Harford County Detention Center.

Troopers who witnessed the actions of Trooper Dunlap reported what they saw to barrack command staff that night and the criminal investigation began the next morning. Dunlap was suspended with pay and assigned to administrative duties.

Dunlap was indicted Tuesday by a Harford County Grand Jury. He turned himself in to State Police investigators at the Bel Air Barrack just before 1 p.m. Wednesday. After processing, he had an initial appearance before a court commissioner and was released on $1,000 bond.

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