PUBLIC INFORMATION Request to Maryland State Police reveals that most requests provided are free with few exceptions; one such inquiry was priced at over a quarter-million bucks

BY KEN ROSSIGNOL

THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY

PIKESVILLE, MD – The Maryland Public Information Act provides that reasonable fees may be assessed to requests for information.

A request to the Maryland State Police for a list of requests posed to the agency between October 1, 2021, and May 23, 2022, and the prices charged revealed that most requests were provided without charge. A few dozen found nominal fees under $25, a small number ranged up to $100, and a few rang the bell for the State Police cash register at over $1,000. One standout from all the rest was a request that was priced at $255,402.00.

DaVaughn Parker, WTOP

The request from DaVaughn Parker apparently is from Maryland State Police Sgt. DaVaughn Parker, who was a uniformed trooper assigned to the Media Affairs Section of the State Police. Sgt. Parker was a duty responder to major news scenes and a daily spokesman for the State Police for several years.

The Maryland General Assembly mandated the State Police to move uniformed sworn personnel from non-police functions and reassign them back to duties of law officers and replace them with civilian personnel. Sgt. Parker was affected by this change of policy mandated by the legislators.

 Mark Urbanik, Director, Analysis & Transparency at the State Police Headquarters, could not confirm that the requester was indeed Sgt. Parker and provided a copy of the request made for information, as provided below:

List of requests and costs related

  • MECHANICS WANTED

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.