By Mike Santa Rita
msantarita@patuxent.com
Howard County State’s Attorney Dario Broccolino announced July 14 that he will not file  charges against a Howard County police officer who shot two Jessup teens during an undercover drug investigation in Jessup in April.
A review of police department reports and an investigation by his office revealed that the actions of the officer did not constitute a violation of criminal law, according to a July 14 letter Broccolino sent to Police Chief William McMahon.
A police internal affairs investigation into the shooting — which police officials have said was accidental — is ongoing. Broccolino and police officials have refused to name the officer because he works undercover.
The officer shot Garcia Wilson, 15, of Jessup, and Dwayne Usery, 15, of Jessup, on April 7 during an undercover police investigation into drug activity, police said.
The officer observed potentially suspicious activity between Wilson and Usery and exited his vehicle intending to question them, according to police. As he left the vehicle with his gun drawn to his side, the officer tripped and, bracing himself for the fall, accidentally pulled the trigger, police said.
The bullet struck Wilson and Usery, according to police. Both boys were treated and released from area hospitals.
In June, Broccolino announced that neither Wilson nor Usery would be charged criminally in the case.
Lawyers for Usery and Wilson both said July 14 that they were planning to file civil lawsuits alleging that the officer acted with negligence in the incident.
Wilson’s attorney, Charles Jerome Ware, said he believes that police have been insufficiently transparent in their investigation of the shooting.
On June 13, Ware filed a Maryland Public Information Act request for results of the department’s internal affairs investigation into the shooting. McMahon denied the request in a June 20 reply, stating that the information was confidential because it related to a juvenile and involved the personnel records of an officer.
“This decision by the State’s Attorney office does not vindicate the officer’s actions,” he said. “However, the lack of transparency by the police department continues to raise more questions about these shootings than answers.”
Jason Shapiro, Usery’s attorney, said July 14 that he did not believe that the officer’s actions were criminal but that he intended to file suit against the department alleging negligence.
The Rev. Khalfani Drummer, a community activist and resident of Pleasant Chase Road, said in a e-mailed statement July 14 that justice had not been carried out in the case.
“There wasn't any evidence of a gun in the possession of the teenagers; nor was there any evidence that the teenagers made any movement towards the officer which would have made him believe that they had a weapon” wrote Drummer, who organized a meeting with police in April to discuss the incident. “Without a finding of negligence or a violation of police procedures, the issue of justice remains unresolved.”
McMahon called Broccolino’s decision “reassuring” in a July 14 statement.
“While we acknowledge that accidents do happen, we have reinforced with officers our expectation that they take every precaution to reduce the likelihood of this type of accident happening again,” he said. “We regret that this accident resulted in injuries to these two teens.”
The announcement marked the second time in a week that Broccolino has decided that the actions of county police officer involved in a shooting were not criminal.
On July 9, Broccolino announced that he would file no charges against Pfc. Mark Baxter who shot a 62-year-old woman in the hip while on a call at an Oakland Mills senior citizen living facility in April.
Baxter shot the woman as she lunged at another officer with a knife, according to police.
The woman was treated and released from the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

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