But he has been tight-lipped about who came up with the idea and how the police became involved. An internal investigation is under way, Guglielmi said. However, police said they will not release the name of the boat owner because no crime was committed.
"We're all just looking forward to moving on and getting back to the business of crime-fighting," Guglielmi said.
Cardin has said "several friends" were with him at the time of the proposal but has declined to identify them. Scott Lowe, the owner of a local sports marketing firm, posted messages to Twitter, a social media site, indicating that he was aboard.
"My bro in law #maryland del. jon cardin proposed 2 his fiance megan on a boat in the harbor w/ a group of friends and fam tonight #baltimore," Lowe wrote just after 8 p.m. Aug. 7, using the language and coding of the site.
Lowe does not appear to be the boat's owner, according to public records.
Foxtrot is outfitted with a video camera, but the equipment was "actually down for repair" at the time of the proposal, Guglielmi wrote, responding to a public information request for the footage. He said the marine unit did not record the event.
In an interview this month, Dixon said she was concerned "more than anything" that officers had cooperated with the proposal plan and that the idea was apparently not vetted by commanding officers. A spokesman said the mayor would not comment further.
Robert F. Cherry, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police, said blame should lie with Cardin - not the officers, who he said "were the ones put in this position by an elected official."
"The best way to deal with it, from our perspective, is not to punish the officers," Cherry said. "Let's fix it so this doesn't happen again. If command has an issue with what happened, they should say to the officers, 'If someone tries to strong-arm you, let us know.' "
Cardin, 39, the nephew of U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, has been widely criticized for misusing police resources. Political insiders have said that the stunt probably ruined his nascent bid to become Baltimore County executive next fall. He represents Owings Mills and surrounding areas, and was first elected in 2002.
In his e-mail to Bealefeld, Cole said his inquiry is "absolutely not personal."
"Delegate Cardin is a nice guy, a very capable legislator and I do feel badly for him," Cole wrote. "However, that doesn't mean that we should walk away from our obligation to protect the taxpayers."
Baltimore Sun reporters Peter Hermann and Annie Linskey contributed to this article.
