Security Detail

With the city in an all-hands-on-deck mode during the third powerful winter storm of the season, the Baltimore Police Department is keeping a patrol officer on a security detail outside former Mayor Sheila Dixon's Southwest Baltimore home. A patrol car with its lights flashing could be seen outside of the home of Dixon, who resigned Feb. 4 after accepting a plea agreement calling for her to step down and pay $45,000 to charity while keeping her pension. Police said such security details are an "operational priority" and that Dixon's remains as part of an indefinite transition phase.

Anne Arundel County Executive Laura A. Neuman has launched an investigation into allegations that county Police Chief Larry Tolliver used homophobic slurs and retaliated against officers whose testimony led to her predecessor's criminal conviction for misconduct. County Councilman Jamie Benoit called for the investigation in a letter to Neuman in which he recounted allegations from officers that Tolliver moved the detectives to less desirable positions and used the anti-gay term "fag.

With the city in an all-hands-on-deck mode during Wednesday's storm, the Baltimore Police Department is keeping a patrol officer on a security detail outside former Mayor Sheila Dixon's Southwest Baltimore home. A police cruiser with its lights flashing could be seen outside the home of Dixon, who on Feb. 4 accepted a plea agreement calling for her to step down and pay $45,000 to charity while keeping her pension. Police said such security details are an "operational priority" and that Dixon's is being maintained during an indefinite transition phase.

Circuit Judge Dennis M. Sweeney today found Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold guilty on two counts of misconduct for using his executive security detail for personal and political gain. Reports of his sexual escapades and urinary malfunctions have filled the public with disgust. I've attended every day of the trial. Most remarkable for me is the vague law on which the indictment against Mr. Leopold was based. Maryland's state prosecutor based his case on Mr. Leopold's general fiduciary responsibility to the public rather than the violation of clear, specific rules.

I certainly hope School Board President Neil Duke isn't implying that schools CEO Andrés Alonso is the only school department employee whose work "takes place both after hours and in troubled parts of the city," and thus requires security ("Overtime costing schools millions," March 2). I am a teacher in the city, and several times a week I am asked by my female colleagues at our Southwest Baltimore school to walk them to their cars in an unpatrolled, poorly lit parking lot after having stayed in the building until well past sundown working.

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold, who has moved to cut spending in his first two weeks in office, plans to continue using a police security detail that costs at least $125,000 a year and that drew criticism during the fall campaign. Leopold, a former state delegate known for knocking on thousands of doors and waving campaign signs from the sides of county roads, took a skeptical stance during the fall campaign toward keeping a security detail that cost an estimated $1 million during the eight-year tenure of Democrat Janet S. Owens.

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold has hired a prominent attorney with ties to the state Democratic Party to represent him, as the state prosecutor's office investigates whether Leopold improperly used his county-funded security detail to work on his recent campaign. Bruce L. Marcus, who is counsel for the Maryland Democratic State Central Committee and represented the Maryland Jockey Club in last year's fight over a planned slots parlor in Anne Arundel, is representing Leopold, a Republican.

Private security guards will soon have an unusual assignment -- guarding police officers and civilians at the city Police Department's headquarters at 601 E. Fayette St.And while the security guards are guarding police headquarters, some police officers will be earning overtime pay while moonlighting as guards at other municipal buildings.The security guards will take their posts at headquarters July 1. They will replace the building's security detail, which is now made up of regular police officers who are on limited duty because of illnesses or injuries.

A member of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's security detail and a motorist were injured Monday evening in an accident on the Jones Falls Expressway, according to a statement from Det. Jeremy Silbert, a police spokesman. The officer was southbound in an unmarked SUV about 8:30, returning to City Hall, when the vehicle was struck at the Guilford Avenue exit by another vehicle, the statement said. The mayor was not in the SUV. Both drivers were taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treatment of injuries police called non-life threatening.

Two Baltimore police officers who had been on the security detail of the city's top prosecutor were reassigned yesterday, a day after one was seen in a courtroom congratulating a police officer who had just been acquitted of rape charges. Byron J. Conaway, an officer for eight years, and Samuel D. Bowden, an officer for 14 years, were removed from State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy's office, Police Department spokesman Matt Jablow said. Jablow would not say why the transfer occurred, and two representatives for the state's attorney's office declined to comment.

With all the gun violence in Baltimore, I discovered that there is only one gun shop in the entire city. That one gun shop only services police, not ordinary citizens. Where are the thugs getting their guns? Gov. Martin O'Malley's zeal to curb guns has incorporated the Newtown tragedy into his mission. I must ask myself, where was he prior to Newtown? I feel he is manipulating gun control and the Newtown tragedy for his political aspirations. I do believe a number of Maryland citizens might agree with me. Governor O'Malley and gun control enthusiasts don't understand or won't understand why folks own guns.

Seated at a defense table Thursday for the first time since his indictment, Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold looked on as his attorney successfully argued for a delay in his misconduct trial so he could research how other Maryland officials use their security teams. Leopold's court date, on allegations that he misused his taxpayer-funded security detail for personal and political gain, offered a glimpse into his defense strategy. His attorney suggested that other executives use their details in similar ways without being charged with a crime.

In Anne Arundel County, public relations appear to go hand-in-hand with police work. Arrested the nephew of an Annapolis mayoral candidate? Run that up the ranks to the chief. A television producer wants to interview a detective about gangs? “HIGHLY” recommend a public information officer sits in and “ensure he stays on course.” Make sure the chief signs off on that, too. The Anne Arundel County Police Department released hundreds of emails this month detailing interactions with the media.

The last time I saw John Leopold, the Anne Arundel County executive who has been charged with using his taxpayer-funded police security detail for, uh, personal stuff, he was standing in a buffet line at opening night of the Maryland Live Casino in June. He was by himself, sans entourage, and he had a small, white plate in his hand. He appeared to be waiting, just like everyone else, for a slice of carved meat. He didn't seem to be expecting special treatment, and at no time did the county executive attempt to schmooze his way to the front of the line.

Defense attorneys for Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold, who is fighting accusations that he used his police security detail for personal and political gain, clashed with prosecutors Wednesday, as the defense asked a judge to dismiss the criminal charges or split them for multiple trials. Lawyer Bruce L. Marcus told Judge Dennis M. Sweeney the charges are unconstitutionally vague or do not say what rules or laws Leopold is charged with violating. He also argued that a charge of misappropriation of funds is "simply the wrong offense" because Leopold neither holds nor disburses funds.

State Del. Pat McDonough was right to complain about violence among black youths at the Inner Harbor over theSt. Patrick's Day weekend, and it took his words to get Baltimore City MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blake to visit the harbor months after the problem arose. Ms. Rawlings-Blake visited the area with her security detail. If the mayor were really concerned by what happened there she should visit the place without her bodyguards. I have experienced the problems and the foul language on display over the holidays at the Inner Harbor, and Delegate McDonough told it like it is. J. Michael Collins, Reisterstown

I hope police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld's quote about the security detail for former Mayor Sheila Dixon ("It's a balance. We've altered the way the deployment is conducted, and it's different from what it was. As we progress along, it'll change according to those assessments. It's a matter of transitioning from what she had to eventually getting and having no security there at all") was taken out of context, for it not it reads like Klingon babble ("Dixon security detail being scaled back," Feb. 17)

ISSUE: Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold, who has moved to cut spending in his first weeks in office, plans to continue using a police security detail that costs at least $125,000 a year. During the fall campaign, Leopold took a skeptical stance on the use by his predecessor, Janet S. Owens, of police officers to drive her and provide protection. Since then, he said, the outgoing police chief, P. Thomas Shanahan, and the incoming chief, James Teare Sr., persuaded him to continue using the security detail.

The union that represents Anne Arundel County's upper police ranks plans to run a radio ad beginning Thursday in support of the department's second-in-command, who has called for a federal probe of the department and said the force is "dysfunctional. " The International Brotherhood of Police Officers, which represents Anne Arundel's police lieutenants and sergeants, paid for the ad that trumpets Deputy Police Chief Lt. Col. Emerson C. Davis as having taken a "brave stand" by testifying in front of the County Council about alleged improprieties by his superiors.

The Anne Arundel County Police Department's second in command said Monday night that he has asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate alleged police misconduct related to a criminal indictment against County Executive John R. Leopold. Deputy Police Chief Lt. Col. Emerson C. Davis testified under oath before the County Council that he requested the probe after last month's indictment. Included in the charges were allegations that Leopold directed his taxpayer-funded security detail to perform personal and political tasks, including compiling dossiers on political enemies.