Charles County, MD As a result of national and local conversations, Sheriff Troy D. Berry is sharing data collected regarding use of force related to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. “I think it’s important to share the information we obtained after doing research covering a five-year period from January 1, 2015 – July 16, 2020. I want the community to know where we are in terms of calls for service, arrests and use of force. I am committed to enhancing all areas of policing and we are continuing to work on several initiatives I announced last month. The data, overall, reflects the professionalism and transparency of this Agency,” said Berry.
In the last five and a half (5.5) years:
- Officers responded to approximately 1,347,727 calls for service ranging from proactive policing, motor vehicle crashes, domestic violence cases to assaults, stabbings, shootings and murder, among others.
- Of those calls, officers were able to resolve over 1.3 million without making an arrest.
- During that five-year time, a little more than 40,000 people were arrested, which averages to about 8,000 arrests per year. These arrests include warrants issued by the court and on-scene arrests.
- 98.7% of arrests were made without officers using any type of force.
- Of the 567 arrests in which officers had to use some type of force to safely affect the arrest, 197 involved noticeable or possible injuries ranging from minor abrasions to injuries sustained when an officer had to use less than lethal or lethal force.
- In the last five years, officers have been involved in four (4) departmental shootings. In each case, the four (4) assailants were armed with a weapon: three with guns and one with a knife. Officers rendered first aide in each case and one shooting resulted in death.
- During this five-year period, the Agency received 24 external complaints of brutality including both police and corrections officers. In addition, the Agency reviewed every Use of Force incident to look for any violations of policy. During that five-year time frame, the Agency found eight (8) use of force incidents, involving a total of eleven (11) police and corrections officers, to be outside of policy. Seven (7) of the eight (8) incidents were found solely during the Agency’s review; only one (1) had an external complaint associated with it. Out of all the use of force violations discovered, no one sustained substantial injuries and no one required medical treatment. These violations resulted in either retraining, written reprimand, and or further disciplinary action against the officer(s).
- Since taking office, Sheriff Berry has separated eight (8) police officers, fourteen (14) correctional officers and three (3) civilians from employment for violations of Agency policy. None of the use of force violations resulted in separation of the officers involved.
“Any “use of force” that involves serious injury or death is reviewed by the State’s Attorney’s Office,” said Sheriff Berry.
“We have set forth many initiatives within the Agency to enhance how we operate and we are continuously working toward creating a more diverse and dynamic agency through training and community engagement. We are moving forward and with time we will begin to see even greater trust and confidence from our community,” said Sheriff Berry.
