The Maryland Office of the Attorney General is investigating the death of a man in custody at a Maryland State
Police (MSP) barrack.
Officials said on January 21, at 7:36 p.m., Maryland State Police troopers conducted a traffic stop on a black Cadillac DTS
sedan on U.S. 301 at McGinnes Road west of Millington, Maryland. During the stop, the troopers arrested the driver, identified as 64-year-old Armar Womack of Middletown, Delaware, and transported him back to the MSP barrack in Centreville, officials said last week.
At the time of the arrest, Womack was conscious and responsive to questions. About two hours after arriving at the barracks, the Womack, who was in a cell, began exhibiting signs of distress and became unresponsive. Troopers notified EMS, who transported him to an area hospital, where he was pronounced deceased at 11:44 p.m.
During the 2021 Legislative Session, the Maryland General Assembly passed SB600, tasking the Office of Attorney General with conducting criminal investigations of all officer-involved fatalities beginning October 1, 2021. These investigations are conducted by the office’s Independent Investigations Division (IID) in conjunction with the MSP officals said in a statement.
The agency issued a protocol for cases that involve MSP personnel. Under those protocols, as soon as practicable after MSP’s initial response, The agency will staff the investigation with MSP personnel who are assigned to a different region of the State. They will also conduct a comprehensive inquiry to determine whether any MSP personnel involved in the investigation has a conflict of interest.
There is camera footage of some parts of the incident. The IID will generally release camera footage within 14 days of an incident. There may be situations where more than 14 days is necessary, including if investigators need more time to complete witness interviews if there are technical delays caused by the need to redact the identities of civilians, officials added.