Retired from law enforcement but not ready to retire from working, 60-year-old Jackie Conway started delivering groceries for Door Dash. It was a decent side hustle and she welcomed the extra money.
The retired captain — the first Black woman to attain that rank in the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office — could not have foreseen how her life would change following a delivery Oct. 29.
Conway, a grandmother of five, said she was greeted at the door by a customer who promptly exposed himself.
She retreated and called 911. Incredibly, despite 20 years spent with the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office, Baltimore County Police arrested her on charges of first- and second-degree assault.
“All that work I did in public service was just gone in that moment,” Conway told The Baltimore Banner, which reported the story exclusively. “It was just gone.”
Charges were dropped last Friday, but Conway is not going to just move on. Her attorneys, J. Wyndal Gordon and Raouf Abdullah, say they believe this is a case of racial or gender discrimination and have notified the city they plan to sue the city.
The customer Conway encountered told officers he was wearing an oversized T-shirt and boxers when he answered the door. He said she was sitting across the street in her vehicle and, when she did not respond to text messages, he walked toward her yelling, questioning why she was still there.
The 21-year-old man, whose name was not released, said Conway told him to, “Get away from my car before I put a bullet in you,” according to a police report.
The man said he raised his hands, turned around and walked back to his house.
Conway said the man was wearing neither pants nor underwear when he opened the door. She said he approached her vehicle aggressively, where she was waiting with her Glock 27, which she had pointed downward in a “low-ready” position.
The retired captain has a walk and carry permit which she showed to police. Conway said she told them she had been a cop.
Officers sided with the customer, arresting Conway and taking her the Towson precinct, where she was held for several hours.
“I was providing a service to someone,” Conway said. “And they come and lock me up.”
On the morning after the arrest, one of the officers, Jasmine Jeffry texted Conway.
“I was the primary Officer on yesterday’s incident,” Jeffry said. “I want you to know that I was expressed my concerns with my direct supervisors this morning.”
Jeffy said she asked to Baltimore County Assistant State’s Attorney Samuel Dominick III to review the case, saying the evidence “highly suggested” the arrest was made “prematurely” without a completed and thorough investigation.
Dominick confirmed that prosecutors would be dismissing the charges against Conway, saying there was no intent of malicious or criminal action on her part.
Jeffry said police would pursue charges against the 21-year-old customer for indecent exposure.
It remains unclear why Conway was arrested in the first place.
“She has an arrest history, which is extremely disturbing for someone in law enforcement,” said Abdullah, one of her attorneys. “Even though this gets dismissed, that blemish remains forever.”
Gordon, Conway’s other attorney, said the case has destroyed her emotionally.
“She’s embarrassed, humiliated, offended,” Gordon said. “It’s just a very disturbing situation that absolutely should’ve never happened.”
