‘Please, I’m scared. I don’t want this’: Body-worn camera footage shows police interaction with Silver Spring man who later died

Jamal Thompson, 31, was in mental health crisis, according to 911 caller

March 26, 2026 11:30 a.m. | Updated: March 26, 2026 11:35 a.m.

Screenshot from body-worn camera footage released as part of an investigation into the death of Jamal Thompson, 31, of Silver Spring following his release from Montgomery County police custody. Credit: Montgomery County Police Department

Less than three minutes after making contact with a man in a mental health crisis on Dec. 15, a group of Montgomery County police officers surrounded him in the hallway of a Silver Spring apartment building and tackled him as he attempted to walk away, body-worn camera footage released Tuesday shows.

The man, 31-year-old Jamal Thompson of Silver Spring, died on Dec. 22 — one week after police transferred him from their custody into the care of a local hospital. The Maryland Office of the Attorney General released body-worn camera footage of Thompson’s encounter with police as part of its Independent Investigations Division’s ongoing review of the death.

The body-worn camera footage begins around 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 15. Officers can be seen entering the lobby of the apartment complex at 9737 Mount Pisgah Road in Silver Spring, where Thompson had been visiting a friend.

Recordings separately published by county police on Wednesday indicate Thompson’s friend called 911 twice the night of the incident.

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In the first 911 call at 8:02 p.m., the friend said Thompson was experiencing a “mental fit” because he had not been taking his prescribed medication. She requested an ambulance for Thompson, who she described as “zoning out” and “acting strange.”

In a subsequent 911 call published by county police Wednesday, the same caller says Thompson ran from the emergency medical personnel who responded to the earlier call. This time, the caller requested a police response, stating “we just want him to get home safely.”

County police declined to comment on the body-worn camera footage Wednesday, citing the ongoing investigation into Thompson’s death.

A spokesperson from the Attorney General’s Office also declined to answer Bethesda Today’s questions about the case, including whether investigators had determined Thompson’s cause of death, potential charges against the involved first responders and the timeline for completing the investigation.

Initial contact

Body-worn camera footage shows police made contact with Thompson in the building’s lobby within a minute of arriving at the scene. Officer Kimora Maier, a three-year veteran of the county police department, can be heard asking Thompson to sit down and talk.

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“We’re just trying to make sure that you’re good,” she says.

Thompson repeatedly insists he is OK. He says he is going to go home after he goes upstairs to retrieve his belongings from the apartment where he was staying with his friend. He asks another man in the lobby how to get to the stairs.

As he attempts to walk away from police, the responding officers surround Thompson in the hallway near the building’s elevator. One officer places a hand on his shoulder while another takes hold of a strap on his backpack.

Thompson attempts to twist out of the officers’ grasp, and a struggle quickly ensues. Maier’s body-worn camera is knocked to the floor as the officers wrestle Thompson to the ground and place him in handcuffs.

“Please, I’m scared. I don’t want this,” Thompson tells the officers as they struggle to detain him. The officers can be heard telling Thompson to stop resisting and saying they are taking him to the hospital.

As the struggle continues, one officer seems to get increasingly frustrated. “I will punch you in the f—ing face if you grab me one more f—ing time,” she yells. It is not clear from the video which officer is speaking.

By 8:40 p.m. — roughly seven minutes after police started trying to detain Thompson — the officers successfully place him in handcuffs. Officers can be seen placing him on his side in what is known as the “recovery position” while they wait for MCFRS crews to arrive.

Thompson remains in handcuffs until approximately 8:55 p.m., when police help MCFRS emergency medical personnel move him onto a stretcher, handcuff him to the stretcher and prepare him for transport to Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring.

In a video posted to social media Wednesday, county police said the officers who detained Thompson did so under an Emergency Evaluation Petition, which allows officers to take a person into custody and bring them to a hospital for a mental health evaluation.

The department said its officers made that decision “based on the totality of the information obtained by the officers and their personal observations about how the subject was acting.”

In addition to Maier, the officers who interacted with Thompson on Dec. 15 include Kevin Argueta, Kyle Conley, Rebecca Davis, Rachel Hopko, Maxie Weisz and Colin Staszewski.

County police spokesperson Shiera Goff told Bethesda Today on Jan. 23 that none of the involved officers were placed on leave pending the outcome of the investigation into Thompson’s death.

‘Requesting chemical restraint’

As Thompson lies on the gurney with his legs strapped down and his feet shackled, an officer can be heard requesting a specific medical intervention.

“He’s fighting and kicking pretty bad,” the officer says. “We’re requesting chemical restraint.”

Chemical restraints including doperidol, midazolam and ketamine can be used to sedate a person who is combative, violent and poses an immediate danger to themselves or others, according to the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems.

The institute is the state administrative agency that oversees and coordinates the statewide emergency medical system in Maryland. Only trained medical professionals can administer a chemical restraint.

According to the institute, chemical restraint can be effective for agitated patients. However, the institute says, “it is imperative that, as with any other medication or intervention, the known risks are weighed against the potential benefits to inform a decision.”

A 2024 investigation by the Associated Press in collaboration with FRONTLINE (PBS) and the Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism revealed that at least 94 people nationwide died after they were given sedatives and restrained by police from 2012 through 2021. About half of those people were Black, like Thompson.

It is not clear from the body-worn camera footage released Tuesday if Thompson was given medication either by emergency medical services or later at the hospital. Piringer told Bethesda Today that he could not say what treatment Thompson received.

The release of body-worn camera footage related to Thompson’s death came 66 business days after the Dec. 15 police encounter.

The investigations division’s protocol states that body-worn camera footage and dashboard camera footage related to investigations are generally to be released within 20 business days after the incident. But the protocol also says “there may be situations where more than 20 business days are necessary.”

In a Jan. 23 press release, the attorney general’s office said those situations include include, but are not limited to, technical delays caused by the need to redact information that raises privacy or safety concerns or the need to allow family members or involved officers to view the footage before it is made public.

In Thompson’s case, the release of body-worn camera footage was delayed due to “the need for additional time to conduct witness interviews,” according to the Jan. 23 press release.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine