A detective with the Aberdeen Police Department suffered a hand injury during a drug arrest at the Aberdeen Amtrak station Monday afternoon.
According to a release from the department, officers were trying to arrest Robert T. Henderson, 31, for an open felony warrant for narcotics violations related to drug activity around the Amtrak station. Over the past month, police said, the department had been investigating illegal drug sales in that area.
A uniformed patrol officer approached Henderson and tried to arrest him, but Henderson allegedly disobeyed the officer’s orders and tried to run, leading to a scuffle.
"He was attempting to leave on the bike and at that point, the officer made physical contact to prevent his flight,” Aberdeen Police Sgt. C. William Reiber said, “Once that took place, a scuffle ensued where our individual officer was rolling around on the ground trying to gain compliance."
At that point, unsure if the suspect was armed, a second officer arrived and resorted to a non-lethal means of taking him down. Henderson was eventually Tased.
"When the resistance was being given that was putting us in a position where a Taser needed to be deployed, a secondary officer that arrived on the scene deployed a Taser," Reiber said.
During that struggle, a detective suffered a significant hand injury before they could get handcuffs on Henderson. That officer was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview for treatment and has since undergone surgery on his hand. He is recovering at home.
Henderson was transported to Harford Memorial Hospital as a medical precaution after ingesting suspected cocaine during the confrontation in an effort, police said, to get rid of evidence. After an evaluation, he was released and taken to the Harford County Detention Center.
Henderson is being held at the Harford County Detention Center in lieu of $50,000 bail.
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