January 8, 2009
Woman in knife attack on officer committed
A 63-year-old Howard County woman who was shot by a police officer this year after she threatened his partner with a knife pleaded guilty but not criminally responsible yesterday to first-degree assault. Pearl Wardell Harris of Columbia will be committed indefinitely to a state mental health facility. On April 30, Harris, armed with a knife, lunged at a police officer, police said. His partner shot Harris after she refused to drop the weapon. Since her arrest, Harris has been at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, a maximum-security psychiatric hospital in Jessup. Harris' attorney said that at the time of the incident her client suffered from paranoia and felt threatened by nearly everyone with whom she came in contact.
Tyeesha Dixon
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