Calvert County Police Accountability Board Meeting – May 29, 2026
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Calvert County Police Accountability Board Meeting – May 29, 2026
Note on date discrepancy: The transcript indicates the meeting occurred on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. However, the provided date for this summary is May 29, 2026. The following content is based on the transcript of the February 25 meeting.
The meeting was called to order, the agenda was approved, and the board reviewed operational updates, including the end‑of‑year report presented to county commissioners in January. A motion authorized the chair to send a follow‑up inquiry to the sheriff’s office seeking clarification on a prior response to a public complaint. The board received a detailed complaints and cases report, discussed forming a community outreach committee, and heard a quarterly presentation from the sheriff.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the Agenda – Motioned and seconded; all in favor (ayes), none opposed; agenda approved as written.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public provided comment during the designated public comment period. No online participants were present.
Discussion Items
- End‑of‑Year Report (Calendar 2025) – Presented to the county commissioners in January; was well received with only a few questions. Board members were reminded to submit their own reports if not yet completed.
- Law Enforcement Training Seminar (April) – The board was informed of an upcoming seminar where counties will share how their PABs and ACCs handle complaints and work with law enforcement.
- New Business: Follow‑up Inquiry Authorization – The chair moved to authorize, following consultation with counsel, transmission of a written follow‑up inquiry to the sheriff’s office to seek clarification on a previously submitted law enforcement response to a public complaint. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
- PAB Complaints and Cases Report (November 20 – February 19) – Presented statistics: 9 complaints received, 2 deemed not eligible for review (involving other law enforcement entities), 8 cases reviewed (7 from before November 20), 10 cases pending review, and 0 resulting in administrative charges. The sheriff’s office has up to one year to investigate before forwarding to the board.
- Quarterly Meeting with Sheriff’s Office – Held the prior week; described as a productive working meeting to resolve any outstanding issues.
- Community Outreach Committee Formation – A committee of two volunteers (Suzanne and another member) was formed to research local organizations with which the board could partner to present information about the PAB, the Administrative Charging Committee, and the Trial Board. The committee currently has no funding; it will first identify target groups. The board already has a PowerPoint presentation from a prior year.
- Trend Analysis – Presented breakdown of case reviews by district; District 2 (central, high‑traffic area) had the highest number of complaints. Calls for service for the same period last year were 26,750; this year there are approximately 30,725 calls, yielding a complaint rate of 0.03%, which was highlighted as very low and reflective of deputy training and body camera use.
- Sheriff’s Quarterly Report – The sheriff reported the following highlights:
- Three correctional deputies graduated from the Southern Maryland Criminal Justice Academy.
- Two deputies graduated from the Anne Arundel County SWAT school; the sheriff’s special operations team also completed critical infrastructure training.
- Hosted the Maryland Sheriff’s Association meeting with judges and case law updates.
- Sponsored the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics at Kings Landing Park.
- Conducted multiple community drills at hospitals, plants, and schools.
- Hosted a “Day of Law” for homeschool students.
- Implemented a new correctional health contract.
- Held holiday events (Toys for Tots, Shop with a Cop).
- Launched the Calvert County Sheriff’s Foundation.
- Opened the detention center as a warming center during cold weather.
- Graduated five deputies from Crisis Intervention Training (CIT).
- Participated as a guest reader at Mutual Elementary School.
- Traffic and enforcement statistics: 30,725 calls for service, 1,229 traffic citations, 7,063 traffic warnings, 76 DUI arrests, 536 traffic accidents.
- Average daily inmate population (pretrial and home detention) is 128.
- CALEA accreditation: first assessment is next week; on‑site assessment in April; final hearing before the commission in Omaha, Nebraska in July 2026.
- Highlighted a major skimmer device case solved across multiple counties and states; advised public to use tap‑to‑pay or pay inside to avoid skimming.
- Recruiting remains an issue; sheriff makes himself available for interviews.
- Received congratulations from the board for maintaining a 0.03% complaint rate for over two years.
- Board Discussion on Body Cameras – Board members and sheriff agreed that body cameras have greatly improved accountability and case review accuracy. The sheriff noted body cameras were a learning curve but now benefit both deputies and the public.
- Meeting Schedule Reminder – The regular meeting schedule was reiterated.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to Approve Agenda – Carried unanimously.
- Motion to Authorize Chair to Transmit Follow‑up Inquiry – Approved unanimously.
- Community Outreach Committee – Formed with two volunteers; tasked with researching partner organizations for public presentations.
- Meeting Adjourned – Motion and second; all in favor.
Generated summary based on the raw transcript.
Meeting Transcript
Did he see me? No, the light didn't go on. Good evening and welcome to the police accountability board. It's Wednesday, February 25th, 2026. The first thing is to approval of the agenda. Has everyone had time to look at it? Yes. Yes. Motion to approve. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Anyone against nay? Agenda has been approved as written. The first thing is the end of the year report. We presented that in January to the county commissioners. They seemed very receptive of it. And there were just a few questions. So it went very well. And that's over with till next year this time. Those are for calendar 2025. If you have not completed that as yet, you need to get it in ASAP. Any questions on that? Everybody receive it. Yes. They're going to be putting on a seminar in April. And they're going around to each county to see how the counties, PABs and ACCs handle complaints and address concerns, any issues, how they work with their law enforcement entity. Any questions on that? Okay, there is a under new business authorization for the chair to transmit follow-up inquiry to law enforcement agency regarding its response to a public complaint. Now remember the complaints come through to the PAB, they're forwarded to the law enforcement entity, the sheriff's department. They conduct the investigation when they're completed with their investment investigation, and they have up to one year to complete that, they then forward it to the ACC to evaluate, and all of that information then is evaluated. The ACC has 30 days to review that and make a determination or send it back to the law enforcement entity, the sheriff's office for further information. So the law enforcement agency has responded to a public complaint. However, the PAB requires more information to process it properly. That would be the summary. So we have to have a motion. Yes. Yes, I read the motion. I move that the police accountability board authorize the chair following consultation with counsel to transmit a written follow-up inquiry limited to seeking clarification of the law enforcement agency's prior response to the public complaint. So it's on the floor. Do we hear a motion for the chair to be able to transmit a written follow-up to the sheriff's office seeking additional clarification? Yes, motion to approve it. I second. All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay. So motion is approved. I'm supposed to be clicking. So the next thing is the PAB complaints and cases. As you can see, complaints received November 20th through February 19th is nine. There were two that were not eligible for review, and that could be that they are involved in another law enforcement entity.
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