Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Police Accountability topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Caroline County enacts Police Accountability Board ordinance
Summary
The Board of County Commissioners voted to enact Legislative Bill 2025-006 establishing a Police Accountability Board, an administrative charging committee and trial boards; the ordinance takes effect 45 days after enactment.
Caroline County commissioners on June 10 enacted Legislative Bill 2025-006 to create a Police Accountability Board (PAB), an administrative charging committee and trial boards to review certain allegations of police misconduct.
The ordinance, described at length in the county’s legislative session, defines the PAB’s composition, terms, removal procedures, meeting standards, training requirements, budget and recordkeeping standards and requires annual reports. "We are here for Legislative Bill 2025-dash-006, which would provide for a new Article 1 of our code... Police Accountability of the Code of Public Local Laws of Caroline County," said Stuart Barrell, who presented the draft to the board.
The board voted to enact the ordinance after discussion; commissioners indicated the version before them incorporated amendments previously approved at the May meeting. The ordinance’s effective date was stated as 45 days after enactment (July, assuming a June enactment). Commissioners and staff discussed that the PAB’s internal rules and procedures — including the timeline for drafting and voting on annual reports — will be developed by the PAB and submitted to the commissioners for approval.
Commissioners and staff also discussed implementing rules for complaint intake. Commissioner J. Travis Breeding asked that the PAB’s procedures require staff to confirm a complaint meets the ordinance’s definition of ‘‘police misconduct’’ as the first step in evaluation. Barrell and county staff said they expect the PAB’s rules of procedure to address that and to be presented to the commissioners for review.
The vote was taken by voice; the chair announced the ayes had it and closed the legislative session. The enacted ordinance adds a new chapter establishing the PAB and related bodies and requires subsequent rules of procedure to be drafted and returned to the commissioners for approval.
The ordinance text as described in the session references the Code of Public Local Laws of Caroline County and states the PAB must provide annual reporting and maintain records as specified in the ordinance. The board also discussed training, budget and staffing needs for the new bodies. No detailed staffing or budget figures were adopted as part of the ordinance enactment; staff indicated those items will be addressed as part of implementation and in the PAB’s rules of procedure that come back to the commission.
