Baltimore County ACC hears updates on ongoing police trial boards and proposed Maryland legislation

The Baltimore County Administrative Charging Committee on Feb. 7, 2025, reviewed updates on several active and scheduled police disciplinary trial boards and heard summaries of proposed Maryland legislation that could change timelines and procedures for administrative cases.

Committee staff reported that one trial board was underway during the meeting and that five additional disciplinary proceedings were pending. The committee was told those pending matters include allegations ranging from unnecessary or excessive use of force to altering court documents and violations of rules for accessing criminal justice databases.

Henry (staff member) summarized the status of cases and related legislative proposals in the Maryland General Assembly. He said, “Just some very, brief updates on some legislation and on trial boards. There's actually a trial board that is ongoing right now,” and listed multiple scheduled proceedings, including matters with dates in March 2025. He said the pending cases included: altering a court document relating to a criminal case; an allegation of violating National Crime Information Center rules and Baltimore County Police Department policy when accessing the Maryland Criminal Justice Dashboard; failure to take appropriate police action; and allegations of excessive use of force and failure to notify a supervisor of use of force.

Henry also outlined several categories of bills under consideration at the state level. Among the proposals he described were measures that would: remove records of unfounded or exonerated allegations from an officer’s record three years after case conclusion; allow officers to file a show-cause request if they believe their process rights were violated; permit officers to file certain complaints that would be routed to the Police Accountability Board or the ACC; apply a “year-and-a-day” deadline to administrative complaints (with tolling while a criminal investigation or trial is pending); allow local attorneys to serve as trial board chairs in some jurisdictions instead of administrative law judges; and require Internal Affairs divisions to submit files to the ACC within nine months of receipt rather than under a longer internal timeline.

Henry characterized the mix of legislative proposals and administrative adjustments as part of “growing pains” as processes evolve. He told the committee he would provide updates at future meetings on outcomes of both the trial boards and the bills.

The committee did not take formal action on the cases or the legislation during the open meeting; the body later convened in closed session to review files.