Trial starts for former Md. police officer charged in pepper spraying (2024)

Philip Dupree, 40, was fired by three small police forces in Prince George’s County before being hired by a fourth, in the town of Fairmount Heights, where he was on duty in the wee hours of Aug. 4, 2019, authorities said. Some of what occurred during the traffic stop that morning remains in dispute, but in his opening statement Thursday, a prosecutor in Dupree’s trial said he behaved “like a bully with a badge.”

After handcuffing the motorist, Torrence Sinclair, now 24, Dupree put him in the front seat of his police car, both sides in the case agree. Defense and prosecution lawyers told jurors in U.S. District Court that Sinclair was belligerent, struggling against the handcuffs and shouting expletives at Dupree, before Dupree discharged a burst of pepper spray into his face.

Dupree, who is no longer an officer in Fairmount Heights, is charged with violating Sinclair’s civil rights, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and obstructing justice, which carries up to a 20-year sentence. The obstruction allegation stems from “trumped-up charges” that Dupree filed against Sinclair in an effort “to sweep this entire incident under the rug,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Howland said in court.

While Dupree was outside the police car, Sinclair, alone in handcuffs in the front passenger seat, “was being loud, he was being obnoxious, he was activating the police car’s siren, he was calling [Dupree] all kinds of names,” Howland said. Nevertheless, he said, Sinclair posed no danger. He said Dupree discharged the pepper spray just “to show him who’s boss.”

“You may not like Torrence Sinclair’s behavior,” Howland told the jury. But in forthcoming testimony, other officers who were at the scene “will tell you he was not a threat.” Howland said those officers watched “in disbelief” as Dupree pepper-sprayed Sinclair.

Defense attorney Christopher Macchiaroli offered a different version of events, saying Dupree justifiably deployed his pepper spray “when he believed Mr. Sinclair was trying to bite him.” In his opening statement Thursday, Macchiaroli said the court affidavit his client later signed, which led to Sinclair being charged with assault on a police officer, was an accurate account of what happened. (The charge was eventually dismissed.)

Citing video evidence, Macchiaroli told the jury that Dupree did not deploy the spray simply because Sinclair was shouting “extremely vile” insults at him. “He does not even respond,” Macchiaroli said of his client. “No threatening comments back, not yelling. He remained silent in response to all these statements,” until Sinclair allegedly tried to bite him.

In a separate state case related to the traffic stop, Dupree has pleaded not guilty in Maryland to charges of kidnapping, perjury and official misconduct. That case is on hold while the trial in Washington is underway. In addition, Dupree and five co-defendants face federal charges in Maryland for allegedly falsely reporting thefts of their debit cards or vehicles to collect insurance money while they were police officers. He also has pleaded not guilty in that case.

Maryland state records show that Dupree was fired by the Capitol Heights Police Department in 2013, by the District Heights Police Department in 2015 and by Prince George’s Community College’s police force in 2018. Whether he resigned from the Fairmount Heights force or was terminated is unclear. All the departments are just outside Washington.

Prosecutors in the case in D.C. said before the trial that Sinclair, for an unspecified reason, would not be called to testify. Sinclair’s attorney, Jonathan Y. Newton, said by phone Thursday that he does not know why his client is not on the government’s witness list. He declined to comment on Sinclair’s behavior during the traffic stop.

Sinclair sued Dupree and Fairmount Heights and received a “six-figure” payment in an out-of-court settlement in 2022, Newton said, without disclosing the exact sum.

Howland, the prosecutor, said Sinclair, with his sister as a passenger, was driving in Maryland, headed home to the District, when Dupree activated his emergency lights to stop him, allegedly for speeding. Sinclair pulled over after crossing into D.C.

Dupree failed to activate his body camera, contrary to police policy, prosecutors said in court filings. They said Sinclair protested vehemently that he had not committed an offense, and he soon found himself in handcuffs in the police car’s front seat. Other officers soon arrived and turned on their body cameras.

Then Dupree discharged the pepper spray. “Mr. Sinclair immediately started screaming: ‘My face is burning! I can’t breathe! Call an ambulance!’” Howland told the jury.

At 2:16 a.m., prosecutors said in court filings, Dupree told a dispatcher that he would be taking Sinclair to the county jail. Instead, he drove him the Fairmount Heights police station, where there are no holding cells, prosecutors said. Dupree left Sinclair in handcuffs for hours and did not transport him to the jail until 5:30 a.m., according to the indictment in the case.

In the affidavit used to file charges against Sinclair, prosecutors said, Dupree omitted details of that detour and made numerous false statements about the events preceding the pepper spraying and what happened afterward. The document was “filled with lies,” Howland said.

Sinclair’s mother, summoned to the scene by the sister, recorded herself shortly before Dupree discharged the pepper spray. “Hey, you better not hit him,” she warned loudly. “You better not spray him for talking” abusively. After Sinclair got a burst of the spray in the face and began screaming, his mother continued recording.

“Oh, he sprayed him for just talking!” she exclaimed. “And he’s handcuffed! He sprayed him for no reason.”