Charges dropped against Anne Arundel cop accused of hitting teenager

Prosecutors dropped charges Wednesday against Anne Arundel County Police Department Lt. Matthew Ploor, who was charged in April with assaulting a teenager.

Ploor, a 20-year veteran of the department, initially faced first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment charges related to a domestic incident involving a minor.

Prosecutors dropped the first-degree charge earlier, so Ploor only faced misdemeanor charges in court Wednesday.

According to police charging documents, Ploor heard a dispute between his girlfriend and her daughter from downstairs in a home in April.

When Ploor went upstairs to check on the situation, he intervened and separated the teenager from her mother.

The teenager told police that Ploor pushed her into a vanity and punched her in the chest, according to charging documents. Ploor told responding officers that he grabbed the teen’s arm after she raised a fist at him and then the teenager fell.

Ploor’s attorney, Peter O’Neill, said his client never should have been charged. Ploor acted appropriately and legally when he intervened, O’Neill said.

“He was trying to defuse,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill said Ploor immediately told his supervisors after the incident.

In a statement, State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said that after reviewing the evidence and consulting with the teenager’s guardian, prosecutors determined the incident “was best resolved through counseling” and that “no criminal prosecution was warranted.”

Leitess added that she thought it was in the best interests of the minor.

Ploor was required to take a course on conflict management and communication skills, and must have no further contact with the minor, she said.

In court, O’Neill said that taking the course should not be interpreted as an admission of guilt by Ploor.

Ploor was suspended with pay after the Police Department learned of the investigation. Justin Mulcahy, a police spokesperson, confirmed Ploor was still an employee of the department.

Police have said an internal administrative investigation into Ploor would begin after the criminal investigation. It was not immediately clear Wednesday whether that investigation would proceed now that the charges have been dropped.