A Baltimore grandmother delivering a doorknob claims that a customer exposed himself after opening the door, but police arrest her for assault. Now he plans to file a lawsuit

Jackie Conway, 60, who had retired from law enforcement but wasn’t ready to retire yet, began delivering groceries for Door Dash. It was a decent side job and she or he happily accepted the extra cash.

The retired captain – the first Black woman to achieve that rank in the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office – couldn’t have predicted how her life would change after giving birth on Oct. 29.

Conway, a grandmother of 5, said she was greeted at the door by a customer who immediately revealed himself.

She backed out and called 911. Incredibly, despite 20 years with the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office, Baltimore County Police arrested her on first- and second-degree assault charges.

“At that point, all the work I had done in public service just disappeared,” Conway told The Baltimore Banner reported only history. “It just disappeared.”

The charges were dropped last Friday, but Conway is not going to just walk away. Her attorneys, J. Wyndal Gordon and Raouf Abdullah, say they imagine that is a case of race or gender discrimination and have notified the city that they plan to sue it.

The customer Conway encountered told officers he was wearing an oversized T-shirt and boxer shorts when he answered the door. He said she was sitting in her vehicle across the street and when she didn’t respond to text messages, he approached her, shouting and asking why she was still there.

A police report says a 21-year-old man, whose name has not been released, said Conway told him to “get away from my car before I put a bullet in you.”

The man said he put his hands up, turned around and walked back to his house.

Conway said the man was not wearing pants or underwear when he answered the door. She said he aggressively approached her vehicle, where she was waiting with her Glock 27, which she pointed down in a “low-ready” position.

The retired captain has a walk and carry permit, which she showed to police. Conway said she told them she was a police officer.

Officers sided with the client, arresting Conway and taking her to the Towson police station, where she was held for several hours.

“I was providing a service to someone,” Conway said. “And they will come and lock me up.”

The morning after the arrest, one among the officers, Jasmine Jeffry, texted Conway.

“I was the lead officer during yesterday’s incident,” Jeffry said. “I want you to know that I expressed my concerns to my immediate superiors this morning.”

Jeffy said she has asked Baltimore County Assistant State’s Attorney Samuel Dominick III to retry the case, saying the evidence “highly suggests” the arrest was made “prematurely” without a accomplished and thorough investigation.

Dominick confirmed that prosecutors were dropping charges against Conway, saying she had no intent to engage in malicious or criminal actions.

Jeffry said police would file charges against the 21-year-old client for indecent exposure.

It is unclear why Conway was arrested.

“She has a history of arrests, which is extremely disturbing for a law enforcement officer,” said Abdullah, one among her lawyers. “Even if it is rejected, this stain will remain forever.”

Gordon, Conway’s other lawyer, said the case had devastated her emotionally.

“She is embarrassed, humiliated and offended,” Gordon said. “This is a very disturbing situation that should absolutely never have happened.”