Crime & Safety

Harford Deputy Charged With Reckless Endangerment

A deputy with the Harford County Sheriff's Office has been charged in connection with firing his service weapon at a suspect.

A deputy with the Harford County Sheriff's Office was charged this week after firing his service weapon at a suspect while off duty, police confirmed Wednesday.

Detective First Class Christopher Michael Beheles, 37, is charged with reckless endangerment in connection with the incident. Beheles was served with a criminal summons in the case Wednesday, online court records show.

The charges stem from an April 8 accident that sparked a police pursuit.

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Around 4:55 p.m. that day, Beheles was westbound on Norrisville Road when the car in front of him stopped to turn left onto White Hall Road and a Toyota 4Runner rear-ended his unmarked patrol car, Edward Hopkins, a sheriff's office spokesman, said at the time of the crash. Beheles was off-duty at the time, according to Hopkins.

Beheles got out of his patrol car and identified himself as an officer to the driver, who witnesses told police appeared as though he was trying to leave the scene, Hopkins said.

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As the Toyota veered around the patrol car, Beheles, "concerned for his safety and ... that he was at risk of being seriously injured or killed, fired his service weapon in an attempt to stop the threat," Hopkins said following the incident.

The Toyota sped away, flipped over and Beheles briefly ran after the driver before taking him into custody. The driver was charged with resisting arrest, failing to obey a lawful order and obstructing or hindering an officer immediately after the incident.

Beheles is on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the case, Hopkins wrote in an email to Patch Wednesday.

Patch reporter Elizabeth Janney contributed to this article.


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