Police Chief Implicated in Illegal Political Enemies List

Don't all politicians gun for their critics?

BALTIMORE – Audio tapes of interviews with executive protection officers for former Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold that have been released to the ACLU pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act reveal police allegations that former County Police Chief James Teare played a direct role in Leopold's use of the county police force as his opposition research team. The tapes also reveal the existence of a dossier on Karla Hamner, a former Leopold employee who has a discrimination lawsuit pending against the county, despite the fact that the county has denied having such a document in its responses to the ACLU's public records requests. In a legal filing, the ACLU seeks to add Chief Teare as a defendant in the Maryland Public Information Act lawsuit, and opposes motions by the County and Leopold to dismiss the cases against them.

"Given the shameful series of events that has unfolded in Anne Arundel County over the past two years, one might have thought it could not get any worse," said ACLU Legal Director Deborah Jeon. "But now we hear from Leopold's Executive Protection Officers claims that all along Police Chief James Teare not only knew of Leopold's demands that the officers compile dossiers and conduct unlawful criminal background checks on innocent citizens, he was himself complicit in that activity."