County Attorney Jonathan Hodgson said the state ethics commission took issue with the procedure, not with the county executive's position.
"The state ethics commission to my knowledge has never issued an opinion that it's inappropriate for police officers to work secondary employment in stores [serving] alcohol; all they have taken issue with is the process," Hodgson said.
Councilman Josh Cohen, an Annapolis Democrat, has also supported the measure and said that the council is "interested in addressing the state's concerns."
The consensus of the council is we support allowing police officers to have secondary employment," Cohen said. "Now we need to jump through these legislative hoops."
Officer O'Brien Atkinson, president of the county police union, said the ban would include places such as the Laurel Park racetrack, restaurants such as TGI Friday's, and even Arundel Mills mall, where many officers have held secondary jobs as security officers.
"Our primary concern is that it would put officers out of work with regard to their secondary employment, and it would also create a gap in public safety that the department would have to pick up," he said.
steven.stanek@baltsun.com
