Man Suffered Heart Attack Following Pikesville Arrest

A 43-year-old man is in critical condition at Northwest Hospital after Baltimore County police used a stun gun and a chemical spray on him during an arrest Thursday in Pikesville, according to a police spokeswoman.

Elise Armacost said police tried to subdue and arrest the man after he allegedly followed one woman, then grabbed another woman outside the  and took her purse. The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. in the 1700 block of Reisterstown Road.

Police are not releasing the man's name since he has not been charged due to his medical condition, Armacost said. She said he went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance at the scene before he was transported to Northwest Hospital.

Northwest Hospital spokesman Holly Hosler said the man was in critical condition Wednesday morning.

Police said the suspect allegedly stole the woman's purse after the first woman he targeted escaped and ran toward a group of customers leaving the Olive Branch Restaurant.

Armacost said the suspect then ran south on Reisterstown Road and threw down the purse before police confronted him. He then allegedly kicked one officer and struggled with another before police used "an electronic control device," Armacost said.

Assisted by an off-duty Baltimore City policeman, officers used a chemical spray on the suspect before placing him in handcuffs and putting him in an ambulance, Armacost said. 

"We have an administrative review that's under way just to make sure that proper procedures were followed," Armacost said. "At this stage there is every indication that procedures were followed properly. [Police] followed the continuum of force in order to bring this suspect into submission."