OCEAN CITY — A Clinton, Md. man had to be subdued with a Taser early Sunday morning after a fight on the Boardwalk resulted in a large crowd taunting and threatening Ocean City police officers.
Around 1 a.m. on Sunday, uniformed OCPD officers were on bike patrol in the area of 5th Street and the Boardwalk when they observed two male suspects pushing and arguing with each other, which caused a large crowd to gather. This was a separate incident from the stabbing that occurred overnight Sunday further north on the Boardwalk.
OCPD officers attempted to separate the two suspects, but one of them, later identified as Joseph Tyrice Cromartie, 20, of Clinton, Md., became combative and assaulted the officers.
One of the OCPD officers used his Electronic Control Device, or Taser, to subdue Cromartie, who was eventually arrested. By the time Cromartie was taken into custody, the large crowd that had gathered at the scene began acting in an aggressive and disorderly manner and taunted and made threatening statements to the officers.
Additional officers responded to the scene, including K-9 and mounted patrols, Worcester County Sheriff’s Deputies and Maryland State Police troopers. The crowd was then quickly dispersed and order was restored to the area. Per OCPD policy, Cromartie was transported by Ocean City EMS to Atlantic General for an examination following the use of the ECD, or Taser, and he was release shortly thereafter with no injuries. He has been charged with two counts of second-degree assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct, failure to obey law enforcement and resisting arrest. He was taken before a District Court Commissioner and was later release on his own recognizance.