Lawsuit Says Ex-Officer Pistol-Whipped Man

A federal civil lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges that a former Hyattsville police officer last year pistol-whipped a man who had advised him not to drive so fast in a residential area.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, says that Todd O. Prawdzik, who at the time was a Hyattsville officer, knocked Matthew J. Crouch unconscious. Prawdzik then charged Crouch with second-degree assault, even though Crouch, who is 32 now, never attacked or threatened the officer, according to the lawsuit.

Prawdzik and other Hyattsville officers attended a court hearing for Crouch and followed him and his relatives in an effort to intimidate Crouch, the lawsuit alleges.

Prince George's County prosecutors later dropped the assault charge against Crouch, according to court records and William F. Hickey III, Crouch's attorney

"It's an egregious example of police misconduct," Hickey said in an interview.

Efforts to reach Prawdzik were unsuccessful.

In June, Prawdzik entered an Alford plea to one count of second-degree assault in connection with a separate incident that occurred in Hyattsville in January 2008. In an Alford plea, the defendant does not admit to a specific act but acknowledges that the state has enough evidence to obtain a conviction.

Prawdzik resigned from the police force before entering his plea.

Greg Phillips, public information officer for the Hyattsville Police Department, said police officials had not had the chance to read the lawsuit and declined to comment

According to the lawsuit, Crouch was assaulted by Prawdzik, who was off duty, just after midnight Sept. 29, 2008, on 41st Avenue.

When Crouch and a friend saw a red truck run a stop sign, the lawsuit says, they shouted and gestured to the driver -- Prawdzik -- to slow down. Prawdzik stopped and jumped out, brandishing a handgun, the lawsuit alleges.

Hickey said Prawdzik struck Crouch's friend with his fist, and the friend ran away.