CUMBERLAND — The chairman of the Allegany County Police Accountability Board said recently that 10 of 11 complaints filed against local law enforcement in 2022 were ultimately dismissed as unfounded.
Don Knott, chair of the five-member Allegany County Police Accountability Board, gave a presentation on 2022 complaints before the Board of Commissioners last week. Knott, retired from the Maryland State Police, spent 46 years in law enforcement, including several years working in Howard County.
The Maryland General Assembly voted in 2021 to require all counties and Baltimore city to establish accountability boards along with administrative charging committees and trial boards to oversee complaints against law enforcement and improve relations with residents.
“We had 11 cases in 2022,” said Knott. “Of those 11 cases most involved police misconduct. Of the 11 cases, 10 of the officers or deputies in question were exonerated with the charges unfounded. There is one case where we did recommend administrative charges against the officer that was involved.”
Knott said the accountability board meets quarterly with the Administrative Charging Committee meeting monthly. He said the board has one case in review currently.
“During my career I’ve witnessed where law enforcement agencies didn’t get along very well,” said Knott. “For whatever reason, the interaction, it could be attributed to a number of things. But I think in Allegany County, one of the things I’m impressed with, the agencies here, they get along very well.
“That shouldn’t be taken for granted because it’s very problematic in some other counties. We enjoy a great working relationship here with all of our agencies and I think our agencies for the most part enjoy a good working relationship with the public in general.”
Knott said that shows in the low number of cases. “That is a small number. We look at other counties larger than ours where there are literally hundreds of cases that they are dealing with.”
Knott said a concern he has with the various boards in Maryland is the potential for officers to be reviewed multiple times.
“We are a rural county,” said Knott. “The police accountability board is over the Frostburg Police, the sheriff’s department and Cumberland Police. The multijurisdiction agencies aren’t. The Maryland State Police, Department of Natural Resources and Frostbrug State University Police come under the statewide board.”
Knott said groups such as a combined task force like C3I could “be involved in one incident and go to at least two different boards and, of course, with the possibility of disparate disciplinary action for one incident depending on which board they go to. That is something I would like to see addressed or at least looked at.”
Knott said local police chiefs are still dealing with issues of retention and recruitment and mental health concerns (for officers) and pervasive drug activity in the county.
“It is something we do struggle with,” he said. “It’s a challenge. I think with the resources we have we are dealing with it as well as most in the state, that is not to say we can’t do better.
“It’s a tough time for law enforcement,” he said. “There is a lot of challenges for the police officers. But I’m very proud of my profession.”
Allegany County Attorney Lee Beeman said he has worked with Knott and the accountability board.
“He (Knott) brings a great a breadth of experience to the board and we have a great set of board members,” said Beeman. “They’re folks that are very thoughtful and give due attention to these things. The folks serving on these board are doing good work for us.”