After a one-year ordeal, I'm leaving the Washington County Sheriff's Office to go back to policing with Hagerstown Community College (HCC) as a police officer. It's been a very difficult journey for me to try to go back to street policing. I started as a patrol deputy with the Sheriff's Office but transferred to the Detention Division (which doesn't perform law enforcement functions) at the start of a difficult divorce, in April 2021.
On Monday, May 2, I'm starting my new position with the HCC Police Department, a smaller agency focused on campus security. The agency is led by Chief Eric Byers, a 19-year veteran of the Frederick County Sheriff's Office in Maryland. The assistant chief of police is Lt Johnny Murray. He is a 29-year veteran of the Hagerstown Police Department and has taught at the Washington County Police Academy in 2019-2020 when I was hired by the Sheriff's Office Patrol Division. Lt Murray recruited me while I was attending the Hagerstown Regional Corrections Academy last month at the same college. Initially offered a part time position, the Sheriff's Office declined to allow me to work, citing conflict and potential policy violation. So Lt Murray offered me a full time position which I applied for. The hiring process was rather speedy as I did most of it while trying to juggle my responsibilities as a class leader in the corrections academy.
My last day as a deputy sheriff assigned to the Detention Division will be on May 1, 2022, but I've currently been on vacation since April 20 until April 30.
I'm leaving Washington County with a past I can't forget but believe I will be a much better police officer in a low risk, low stress environment.
For years, way before I became a Deputy Sheriff, I wanted to do mods for GTA V. I watched countless of Youtube videos from gamers being on patrol with real-life police cars in the GTA universe. Back in 2011, I attempted to mod a vehicle on my low-grade PC and I was semi-successful. I was able to mod a GTA San Andreas vehicle for a Baltimore County Police patrol car. But it was slow and I quickly abandoned the project.
With my friend Dustin getting into modding himself, specifically police car modding, I joined the party. I invested in a gaming PC through eBay. Once it got here, Dustin helped me learn about modding. Here are my first pictures.
Fort Ritchie in Cascade, Maryland, is a retired military campus that closed in 1998. It remained property of Washington County for many years until this year, 2020, when it was sold to a local resident for $1.5 millions . As of July 2020, the sale remains in litigation in the court system. Law enforcement in the county, particularly the Sheriff's Office, makes patrol checks due to criminal activity complaints. Photos with Canon SX170IS and Sony Cybershot DSC-H400.
High Rock Overlook, Cascade, Maryland, is a site on the Northeast side of Washington County, not far from Fort Ritchie, and close to the Pennsylvania border. It is a group of rocks that hang high, looking over the rest of the county. It is a popular hang-gliding site that also includes a trail about two miles long. Authorities had closed off access to it from High Rock Road during the Covid-19 pandemic in the spring 2020. However, as of July 2020, access has been granted again. There have been a few incidents such as suicides and rescues, including one from 2019 when a woman jumped to her death. Photos with Sony Cybershot DSC-H400.
The killing of George Floyd on May 25 by a Minneapolis police officer has sparked protests across the country for the 13th straight day as of today (June 7, 2020). Early protests turned into riots and looting causing injuries and in some instances death though not in great numbers. The police officer directly involved in his killing, Derek Chauvin, was arrested and charged with second degree murder. Three other police officers who were in a back up role were also charged basically for not intervening and stopping their partner. All involved were fired.
The protests have extended beyond the United States and transformed into a fight against racism movement. I have friends who have joined in and posted their participation in peaceful protests on Facebook.
Protest in Hagerstown, MD, on June 7, 2020. Source: The Herald-Mail.
Facebook is currently a forum where people are very divided and emotions are seemingly high on both sides. That leaves me at times confused about my role as a police officer and an individual. My wife wishes I played a more active role in condemning bad police actions.
However, I'm refraining from being outspoken on social media because we were told during pre-FTO orientation to avoid making controversial statements on Facebook, especially during these times. We were given the same warning almost seven months ago, when we were hired, long before today's events (even though, I've by now seen many posts by fellow co-workers that are pro-police in nature with some close to controversial).
It's a free country and freedom of speech certainly apply to law enforcement officers when we're off duty. But there could be negative consequences if there was a complaint, as that has happened before.
The times are challenging to say the least. On my Facebook feed, I watch two sides fight. On one side is my family and my former co-workers from my previous job advocate for police accountability and racial justice. On the other side, I see posts from current co-workers that essentially support the "thin blue line."
I've wanted to be a police officer for over a decade. I never thought I'd become one in times like this. Thankfully, these protests have now become more peaceful, although more radical in nature. Many are now pushing for disbanding or cutting funding to police departments.
Hopefully, the country can heal and move forward. We still have the coronavirus to deal with.
In this blog, I'm going to talk about the popular practice of filming law enforcement officers in the course of their duties.
For the past several years, a skeptical public has been recording police officers, Sheriff deputies, state troopers and other types of law enforcement officers while those officers interact with the public in the course of doing their job. Controversial police shooting and police misconduct -- perceived or real -- has made the practice even more important.
There are perhaps hundreds of Youtube videos that depicts law enforcement officers in their everyday activities. Some of those videos definitely show officers doing their job in a professional manner. Some are plain embarrassing for the officers.
Is recording the police legal?
The short answer is yes, in almost all instances as long as you do it without interfering with their job. This is a first amendment issue that the courts have ruled on: the right of the public to discuss government business -- and critic it. Citizens journalists and activists have the same first amendment protection afforded to members of the media. Consequently, there are many audit videos on social media that aim to test authorities as to whether they would respect that first amendment. I have included below a couple of videos from social media.
A common practice is the use of public building by "first amendment auditors." For example, they would enter City Hall or the local Post Office and begin recording visibly annoyed employees. Naturally, the employees feel violated in their expectation of privacy and start engaging the auditors. Somewhere during the back and forth, you could hear a misleading phrase that I hate to hear so much from these auditors, "You work for me, I pay your salary." Contrary to popular believe, a government employee, including a police officer, doesn't work for a particular citizen, but that's another topic. Then the employee ends up calling the police. The auditor gladly wait for an officer to respond. Depending on the level of the officer's knowledge, that officer either finds that no laws were broken or gets educated on the law by the cameramen. Few instances show the auditor being arrested. The videos are fun to watch for me as I have spent a lot of time watching them.
Despite these hundreds of videos out there on the web filming officers and the lessons that can be learned from them, a lot of police officers in the country are still not familiar with the practice of recording public officials. In fact, this is not just about recording the police. Anyone can record the general public as well from a public space. You may record while walking on a sidewalk, for example. This is, however, different on private property where the owner of a business can legally restrict such activity.
Are there any limitations to recording in public?
Probably, yes. The legal website nolo.com says "the exceptions differ depending on where you are." As stated earlier, you cannot interfere with an officer in the performance of their duties. Interfering means things like staying too close to an officer in the area of activity. Some states wiretapping laws might protect authorities but I'm not too familiar with them to talk about them on here.
Generally speaking, as long as you are recording from a distance, you should be good to go.
As far as me, as a new deputy, I welcome being filmed and recorded. The new generation of officers is now equipped with body cameras that we must activate almost anytime we respond to calls. I think it's a useful tool for both sides (the officers and the skeptical public).
Obviously, this blog should definitely not be construed as legal advice. Consult with the laws of your state.
New York State Police First amendment audit/Jason Uruhe
Officers engage an auditor who was filming a traffic stop/Copwatch via Lackluster
A happy ending where an officer respected the auditor's rights to film/News Now Colorado
Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. I made a big accomplishment and was among 14 who graduated from the Washington County, MD, Police Academy at Hagerstown Community College Kepler Theater. I became a Deputy Sheriff with the Washington County Sheriff's Office, ending a very long ordeal that started in December 2004 when I wanted to join the West Virginia State Police and subsequently fought to just become a cop somewhere, but had major hurdles because of lack of citizenship. This would not have been possible without God's intervention. He made it happen and my endless prayers all these years, including throughout this 25 weeks of training, were finally answered.
To illustrate even how hard I fought, I unexpectedly received the Chris Nicholson Award. This was a big surprise. With my wife looking on, I walked on stage to accept the award. There was no major crowd at graduation as we are in a worldwide pandemic with the Covid 19. The Chris Nicholson Award is presented to the cadet "who demonstrated courage, determination and the refusal to quit spirit, embodied by Officer Nicholson for class 02," it says on the plaque. Officer Nicholson was a Smithsburg police officer who was killed in the line of duty in December 2007 while responding to a domestic dispute just outside of that town limits (he was assisting the Washington County Sheriff's Office and was first on scene).
This academy was a little different as we graduated three weeks early (May 14 2020 instead of June 3rd 2020) as academy staff became concerned about the pandemic. Some police academies nationwide chose to shut down temporarily, including the Maryland State Police Academy. However, we are returning to class -- as police officers and deputies -- to complete some courses that, although not required by the Maryland Correctional and Police Training Commission, are required by our respective agencies (Sheriff's Office and Hagerstown Police). For example, we need to learn how to use the software used to issue traffic citations. We need to be certified to use radar, etc.
We will be at the academy for two weeks before starting our field training on June 1st for the next three-four months. The field training itself is also said to be a tough program that I need to get through before being on my own as a patrol deputy with the Sheriff's Office. Below are some pictures with some of my classmates and my wife.
After 15 years of trying and waiting, the good news is in. I made it and was, finally, hired by a police agency recently, last month. I'm currently in training with the Washington County Police Academy and I was hired by the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Maryland. Washington County is 458 land square miles (467 total square miles) with a population of about 150000 as of 2018. So it is not a small jurisdiction but isn't as big as Montgomery County or Prince George's County (both in Maryland as well). And that's OK because although I wouldn't have wanted to work for a small and boring jurisdiction, I don't want a Baltimore-like jurisdiction either where calls are non-stop. I still like the rural feel too although cities and counties in the area are constantly growing.
For the people who know me personally, they are familiar with my struggle and ordeals dating back to early 2005. The first time I tried applying for a police job was in December 2004 with the West Virginia State Police. I took the physical test in Morgantown on that year, following my college graduation, but failed to make the 1.5 mile run on time. However, I had even more serious obstacles that I would deal with along the way. I was not a US citizen and couldn't apply anywhere else as that was a central requirement with other law enforcement organizations. So I was effectively forced to wait, or re-try with the West Virginia State Police -- which didn't require citizenship. I attempted several times with the state police to no avail. Rejected everytime for one reason or another.
I landed decent banking jobs at Wells Fargo and Navy Federal and decided to hang on to the latter as it paid me quiet well and I even worked from home. But my heart was truly in law enforcement and I kept daydreaming about it. By then, I was a volunteer reserve Deputy in Jefferson County, WV, with the local Sheriff's Office. I had become a US citizen just a little over two years ago and even immediately applied with the Frederick City Police Department (MD). I withdrew my application because I wanted to stay at Navy Federal. But like I mentioned above, my mind was always in law enforcement.
So this summer, in early July, I applied with the Washington County Sheriff's Office, seeing they were hiring on their website. It was a closer commute from my house as I wasn't really interested in driving to Frederick or beyond. I also found out they were starting their new academy with their first class through Hagerstown Community College. I was going to be part of the second class. I was somewhat lucky. The agency was looking for about 8-10 new hires which is a decent amount of people to hire all at once in this area. And the hiring process was somewhat accelerated but the standards were still the same. I went through the usual phases: physical (barely passed the 1.5 mile run, at age 39), two interviews, background investigation, poly, psychological, medical and final offer.
When I received a text inviting me and others to report to the Sheriff's Office, it was surreal. My three years old son was playing with me in my bedroom when I got the text. I told him that it looked like this was it, that I had made it. I told him he had no idea what I went through and why this was important. But for a boy as young as he was, he wouldn't have understood.
It's not over yet, however. I'm in the academy as a cadet and still have to pass all required testing and physical activities have become a challenge for a 39 years old like myself. Eight of us were hired, plus two laterals from other agencies. There are also eight cadets from the Hagerstown Police Department. Hagerstown is the biggest city in Washington County with about 40000 inhabitants. It's a busy jurisdiction. The academy started two weeks after I was hired, November 18. It will lasts until June 5, so about six months three weeks. Once I complete it, I will officially become a Deputy Sheriff. I'm nonetheless still employed and paid by the agency full time with full benefits while I train.
My co-workers both at Navy Federal and Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and its reserve unit were happy for me.
I will come back and add additional posts about my journey but cannot post details about the academy to protect academic integrity.
