Anne Arundel Officer Who Fatally Shot Armed Man Will Not Be Prosecuted

GLEN BURNIE, MD — No charges will be filed in a Glen Burnie case involving Anne Arundel County Police officers who fatally shot a man with knife last year who was believed to have killed his mother.

The review was done by the Independent Investigations Division of the Office of Attorney General, which released the results Friday. (See a link to the police video at the bottom of this story.)

On Nov. 28, Anne Arundel County Police went to a home in the 1400 block of Braden Loop in Glen Burnie after a woman called 911 to report a male family member had chased her from the house with a knife. The 911 caller also reported her mother, who lived in the house, was missing.

Officers knocked several times on the front door but got no response. When they forced the door open, officers saw Digno Ramon Yorro Jr. standing inside, holding a knife.

According to the investigation, officers ordered Yorro to drop the knife multiple times. When he did not drop the weapon, an officer fired several beanbag shotgun rounds and then used his taser on Yorro, but those methods had no effect.

Yorro then walked toward officers, still armed with the knife, and Cpl. Joseph Burger shot Yorro three times. Officers and then paramedics provided medical aid, but Yorro was pronounced dead at the scene.

The attorney general's Independent Investigations Division concluded its investigation into the shooting on June 2 and forwarded its investigative report to the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office the next day. The report does not make recommend whether anyone should or should not be charged.

The Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office then notified the IID on Aug. 15 of its decision not to prosecute the case.

In accordance with state law, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh's Office reviewed the officer-involved shooting.

While at the residence, officers discovered a dead woman who had suffered from trauma, identified as Yorro's mother, in the garage.

The victim, Valentina Yorro, 64, was a mother of three and grandmother of six, her family told The Baltimore Sun. She took care of her grandchildren, helped at her church, volunteered at Oakwood Elementary School in Glen Burnie.

She previously worked as a paraeducator at Marley Elementary School for four years, a police spokesman told the Sun.

Valentina had taken out a protective order against her son in 2020, the newspaper said, because he struggled with mental health.

Watch the video here.