ANNAPOLIS POLICE: Are they circling the drain of incompetence and corruption after hiring Chief Edward Jackson?

ANNAPOLIS POLICE: Are they circling the drain of incompetence and corruption after hiring
Chief Edward Jackson?

BY KEN ROSSIGNOL

THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY

News and Commentary

ANNAPOLIS, MD—In recent months, the Annapolis Police Department took the extremely unusual step of throwing away the coveted professional designation sought by any professional police agency in America: CALEA-certified.

The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, CALEA designation reviews all aspects of a law enforcement agency to ensure that legal standards in training, hiring, adherence to all laws, and respecting the constitutional rights of the public are maintained.

From CALEA website: “The CALEA Accreditation program seals are reserved for use by those public safety agencies that have demonstrated compliance with CALEA Standards and have been awarded CALEA Accreditation by the Commission.”

“The original CALEA Law Enforcement seal, previously recognized as the corporate CALEA logo, has a rich history and honors those who contributed to the development of the accreditation process.”

The Annapolis Police’s reason for jettisoning the CALEA affiliation could only be one: since Jackson became the Chief of Police, the Annapolis Police Department has failed to maintain the standards needed to keep CALEA certification. Chief Jackson, possibly in collusion with the Mayor, doesn’t want the public to know their well-funded police agency is going straight to the crapper.

Chief Jackson claimed that since the gang-related triple homicide all of his best people have been involved with the case and the investigation and are therefore unavailable to keep up with the requirements of CALEA.

Baloney. Therefore, what are they hiding in the Annapolis Police Department?  Could it be they have lost important evidence in the triple homicide case? Are drugs, guns and money taken from drug dealers not properly accounted for in the property held storage? Are some officers on the take or getting someone to sign in for them when they are on vacation? Are guns being planted on suspects?

These are fair questions when significant oversight provided by CALEA was dumped.

When a fish starts to rot, it starts at the head.

Baltimore TV station WBFF reported that Chief Jackson suspended two Annapolis police officers after they complained about Jackson’s mismanagement.

The union that represents Annapolis Police says two officers have been suspended after speaking out about their working conditions within the police department.

According to the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 Union which represents Annapolis Police, a group of officers met with the Annapolis City Manager and Human Resource Manager in March to report waste and mismanagement within the department.

Another meeting allegedly took place in May with Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley.

According to the union, two officers who met with Buckley were suspended last week by Annapolis Police Chief Ed Jackson.

The union says Jackson said the officers brought discredit upon the department.

The apparent nepotism brought from Baltimore by Jackson is the problem, as there has only been one arrest in the triple homicide, and the Anne Arundel State’s Attorney’s Office is handling the prosecution, not the Annapolis Police Department.

One of Jackson’s top hires was Ronda McCoy, who recently quit the department after becoming embroiled in an investigation into Public Information Officer Miguel Dennis. In 2014, Ronda McCoy was featured in YouTube videos produced by the Baltimore Police Department as the Acting Commander of the Special Investigations Section.  

With that experience, McCoy should be qualified to determine if a public information officer illegally gave out information without following the law.  IPSO facto. But then again, this is Maryland, which sets a national standard for “Culture of Corruption,” and Annapolis is the state’s capital.

An internal investigation led by McCoy found Dennis violating department procedures for handling public information regarding his old buddy, a fellow retired Maryland State Trooper, and St. Mary’s County Orphans Court Judge Michael White.

Judge White was hauled in for a reprimand hearing at the Maryland Judicial Disabilities Commission on June 26, 2023, for several awkward adventures involving truthfulness in his disclosures of actual income and financial filings with the Maryland Judiciary. 

In the Matter of Michael R. White Before the
Commission on Judicial Disabilities

When Judge White’s hearing into his involvement with Compass Marketing became part of his Judicial hearing, Judge White presented exhibits he claimed he “got from the police” regarding a police report of a possible kidnapping attempt by Compass Marketing CEO John D. White.

In short, the Annapolis Police Department had the information, not the Good Fairy.  No one has accused the Good Fairy of giving the information to Judge Michael White.

Why is this important?

Compass Marketing CEO John White says that the exhibits provided allegedly by Dennis to Michael White have been dissemeninated in a pattern of conduct for months to customers of Compass Marketing and has caused the advertising firm to lose millions in business.

However, a public hearing into Public Affairs Officer Miguel Dennis‘s possible conspiracy is set to begin on Sept. 5, 2024, and run for as many as four days in the next few weeks. The hearing could find Dennis guilty of violating the policy and procedures of providing unredacted and restricted information to the public. Dennis is also retired as the Police Chief of St. Michael’s, Maryland.

ANNAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT TO CONDUCT
ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

The Annapolis Police Department conducts Administrative Hearing Boards in accordance with Maryland Law.

Administrative Hearings are conducted at the request of a police officer who exercises their right to contest the findings of an Internal Affairs investigation. Individuals attending/viewing any Administrative Hearing will not be permitted to audio or video record any portion of the proceeding. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in removal from the hearing.

The hearings will be held at the Pip Moyer Recreation Center, 273 Hilltop Lane, beginning at 9:00 am.

The following press release was issued by the City of Annapolis in 2020:

City of Annapolis Announces Police Department Hiring of Ronda McCoy as Director of Fiscal Services

ANNAPOLIS, MD (November 23, 2020)—Annapolis Police Chief Edward Jackson is pleased to announce the hiring of Ronda McCoy to a top leadership position in the Department. McCoy began on November 12, 2020, as the incoming Director of Fiscal Services and Professional Standards, a newly created position within the department.

“Last year, when we brought on Chief Jackson, one of my goals, and one of the things we heard from residents, was an intense desire to focus on accountability,” said Mayor Gavin Buckley. “Ronda is an expert at fiscal and operational management and efficiency. I’m glad she has joined our Annapolis team.”

McCoy served in the Baltimore City Police Department for 28 years, retiring at the rank of major. In Annapolis, McCoy will serve in leadership as a civilian. She is a native of Philadelphia, and served in the United States Army where she worked in finance and accounting.

“My last duty station was Aberdeen Proving, and that’s where I fell in love with Maryland,” McCoy said.

She had a number of commands in Baltimore, including special investigations, Internal Affairs, and Internal Auditing, and was assigned to narcotics, domestic violence, patrol, and community relations as a detective and supervisor. The highlight of her career was assisting the Compliance Bureau and creating the Use of Force Assessment and the Auditing Units. When the Department of Justice issued the Baltimore Consent Decree, the process for the Use of Force Assessment, McCoy’s name, and exact processes were written explicitly.

McCoy said she is coming to Annapolis with fresh eyes. “We are not Baltimore City, Baltimore County, or even Anne Arundel County. There are specific things we need to do as a department that are specific to Annapolis. I am not here to change those things but to look at them and make them work more efficiently,” she said.

McCoy is married with three children and six grandchildren. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Homeland Security and a Masters in Executive Leadership.