The Washington County State’s Attorney’s Office has filed to drop criminal charges that were brought against Anne Arundel County law enforcement officers at a Hagerstown softball tailgate, court records show.

The charges stem from an altercation in May 2025 outside a Hagerstown hotel between Julianna Frishkorn, her sister and a group of off-duty officers who were part of a tailgate of up to 46 people for a traveling softball team.

Frishkorn gave a sworn statement to a District Court commissioner in December, six months after the incident, alleging that she was assaulted by the officers and others in their group. Court commissioners rely only on the sworn statement of the person applying for charges.

A recent Baltimore Banner investigation found that there are few safeguards in Maryland’s court commissioner system, which allows anyone to file for criminal charges without the review of police or prosecutors, and innocent people’s lives are often upended by frivolous charges.

Frishkorn said in her statement that the officers accosted her as she tried to walk through their tailgate to take her service dog to the “designated dog waste station” at the hotel. She said after tensions rose, the Hagerstown police were called to the scene.

When the police left, Frishkorn said, Anne Arundel County Police Cpl. Kara Parks punched her and her husband, Tracy Parks, and threw Frishkorn to the ground.

She also accused Anne Arundel County Police Sgt. Brandon Drabczyk and Maryland State Police Trooper Timothy Swigert of restraining her.

Washington County State’s Attorney Gina Cirincion said in an email that prosecutors decided to drop the charges because “video evidence does not support the allegations in the charging document.”

Security camera footage from the hotel and bystander videos captured the incident. Police body camera footage shows officers talking to people at the scene.

After charges were filed against Kara Parks, a four-year police veteran, and Drabczyk, a 19-year agency veteran, county police said they were suspended with pay pending an internal affairs investigation.

Anne Arundel police spokesperson Justin Mulcahy said Saturday that the department was “unaware” of any official court updates.

Maryland State Police suspended Swigert, who has been with the agency since 2003 and is assigned to its Glen Burnie Barrack, without pay after he was charged pending an internal investigation.

The state law enforcement agency did not immediately respond Saturday to questions about Swigert’s work status.

Shortly after the incident in May, Hagerstown Police charged Frishkorn and her sister, Jennifer Havens, with assaulting Kara Parks, Drabczyk and Swigert. In charging documents, police described Frishkorn and Havens as the aggressors in the altercation.

A judge in November acquitted Frishkorn of all charges, finding the evidence insufficient. Havens was also charged at one point, but those charges are no longer in public court records. Frishkorn said on Saturday that she was “maliciously prosecuted.”

Attorneys for Kara Parks and Drabczyk did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Reached by phone, Tracy Parks’ attorney Chaz Ball declined to comment.

Swigert’s attorney, John Doud, previously said he was confident his client would be cleared.

“I am glad this is being resolved so that he can get back to work,” Doud said in an email Saturday.

Frishkorn said she will pursue a civil lawsuit next.

“Unfortunately, I’m not gonna get the justice that I deserve as far as criminal charges, because they’re police officers,” she said. “I will get the justice I deserve civilly.”

O’Brien Atkinson, president of the union that represents Anne Arundel police officers, said he was glad the officers were vindicated.

“They must’ve looked over the facts of the case, and it sounds like they made the right determination,” Atkinson said.

The system of charges to court commissioners was intended to provide greater access to justice, and advocates maintain that it’s crucial to allow survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault who don’t feel comfortable going to the police or believe that law enforcement isn’t taking their concerns seriously to directly access the courts.

The Banner has also found the process can be easily abused and wreck people’s lives.

Atkinson said the case was an example of abuses of Maryland’s court commissioner system.

“Oftentimes when our officers charge someone criminally, the person who’s been charged kind of their only form of vindictive action is to go after the officers and charge them,” Atkinson said. “Anyone can charge anyone with a crime in the state of Maryland.”

Atkinson described Kara Parks and Drabczyk as “honorable police officers.”

”It’s unfortunate that they had to go through this situation, but sometimes it does come with the territory," Atkinson said.

Banner reporter Dylan Segelbaum contributed to this story.

This article has been updated.