Calvert County Police Accountability Board approves appointments, reviews complaint trends; sheriff updates board

The Calvert County Police Accountability Board on Aug. 17 approved multiple reappointments and a vice chair, reviewed trending data on citizen complaints and case outcomes, and heard a quarterly update from Sheriff Cox on staffing, homelessness and school safety.

Board members voted to reinstate Alexis Phillips and extend Scott Deacon’s terms on the Administrative Charging Committee and to extend Stephanie Deal’s term on the Trial Board. Member Quentin was nominated and approved as vice chair. The board discussed a current vacancy on the Administrative Charging Committee and encouraged applicants; the committee requires members to complete a 40‑hour training in Sykesville before serving.

The board’s trending presentation covered complaints received and cases reviewed through Aug. 13. The Police Accountability Board reported 19 complaints received in that period, with 16 cases reviewed (including four carried over from the previous year) and six cases pending review. Five cases resulted in administrative charges, and four of those administrative‑charging outcomes were in agreement with the sheriff’s office findings. The board’s analysis found a downward trend in incoming citizen‑involved complaints: 15 such complaints reported in 2025 to date, down from 41 between July and December 2022.

The board also mapped complaints by patrol district. District 1 (northern Calvert County) had 17 recorded complaints; District 2 (Prince Frederick and the county hub) had 49; District 3 (southern county) had 18; and beach patrol areas had 13. Board members noted that District 2 is both the population and activity center, with more traffic and concentrated housing, which may account for higher complaint counts.

Ed Baylor, chair of the Administrative Charging Committee, and other board members described work to refine policy‑level categorizations for trending. Members asked the ACC and sheriff’s office to be as specific as possible when citing policies and subclauses so the board’s trend analysis can be more precise. The board plans to maintain the trends as a “live document” and present revisions quarterly.

Sheriff Cox delivered a quarter‑in‑review for the sheriff’s office, saying the county remains “the safest county in the state” and praising coordination with the board. The sheriff reported outreach and recruitment activity, an ongoing police academy class, recognition for Deputy Parks, and a recent Citizen Police Academy. He said the department is working on ways to improve correctional health care at the jail and noted participation with the county homeless services work.

On homelessness and related calls for service, Sheriff Cox said Prince Frederick is the primary location for visible homelessness because it is the county’s service hub. He said some individuals who appear repeatedly in calls for service are the same people the department encounters multiple times and that the county and health department are coordinating services. The sheriff said there were about 62,000 calls for service in 2025 through July, a figure he presented as context for workload and officer activity.

On school safety, Cox said the county currently lacks a deputy assigned to six elementary schools (he described the jurisdiction as “6 short right now”), while all middle and high schools have coverage. He said the department is working to place deputies in every school and emphasized outreach programs such as the junior sheriff program and the SRO presence as priorities.

Board members discussed community outreach efforts for the Police Accountability Board and the Administrative Charging Committee. The board reported three outreach events this year (including at Calvert Library and offices in Prince Frederick and Solomons) and agreed to expand outreach next year to better publicize meetings and resources; members suggested tabling at existing community events such as National Night Out and county fairs. The board asked members to forward outreach ideas to Michael in HR for coordination.

The board set its quarterly meeting schedule for 2025 (fourth Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., except December, which will meet Dec. 3) and opened the floor for public comment following adopted rules; no public commenters addressed the board in person or virtually during the allotted time. The meeting adjourned following routine closing announcements.