An Anne Arundel County, Maryland, man who claims to have the coronavirus has been charged with spitting at police officers.
William Edings, 32, was charged with four counts of “exposure by infected individual,” a misdemeanor charge that states it’s a crime for a person with an infectious disease to willfully expose others to it.
Anne Arundel County police officers responded to Edings’ home in Odenton Tuesday afternoon after someone who was in an argument with Edings said he was becoming violent and making threats.
Based on comments Edings made about having the coronavirus, officers showed up wearing protective equipment such as gloves and masks.
“He was spitting and making statements about his condition,” said Anne Arundel County police spokesman Marc Limansky. “He was being aggressive toward the officers, spitting and coughing repeatedly in their direction.”
Instead of arresting Edings, police told him to go in his home and self-quarantine.
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The officers involved were told by county health officials that they themselves did not need to self-quarantine.
“There was no contact or immediate exposure,” said Limansky.
Due to privacy issues, police officials refused to elaborate on whether Edings did in fact test positive for the virus.
“There was no confirmation about the nature of his condition, but this was of concern,” said Limansky. “Statements that the suspect made alerted officers to the possibility that there was some sort of danger.”
