They are picking up the check

Montgomery County returns $296,000 payment Baltimore sent for riot aid

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett sent a check for about $296,000 back to Baltimore last week, declining reimbursement for the assistance that officers from the Washington suburb provided during unrest in the city last year.

Leggett sent a letter to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, saying, “While we certainly appreciate the gesture, Montgomery County, like Baltimore City, is part of the great state of Maryland, and we accepted the call for assistance with the belief that the City would do the same for us in a time of need. Consequently, we are returning the check.”

Montgomery joins Baltimore County in forgoing reimbursement for sending officers to assist the city when rioting and looting broke out in the hours after Freddie Gray’s funeral. Gray, 25, died in April 2015 after suffering spinal cord injuries in police custody.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz announced in December that he wouldn’t seek $257,000 in reimbursement from the city. He said at the time that the county offered assistance on an emergency basis.

“The city is our neighbor, and when a friend is down, you lend them a helping hand and help them step up,” Kamenetz said then.

The Harford County Fire Department also declined reimbursement, said Anthony McCarthy, a Rawlings-Blake spokesman. He said Harford County’s bill “would not have exceeded $60,000.”

McCarthy said surrounding jurisdictions spent a total of $2.1 million on manpower and resources to assist the city in April and May 2015.

The Maryland National Guard and state troopers also were brought in to help.

“All of the jurisdictions who responded and provided aid and assistance during a challenging time in our City were generous,” McCarthy said. “Some … further expanded this generosity by declining reimbursement. These thoughtful gestures recognize that our jurisdictions are stronger when we work together.”

Baltimore police spokesman T.J. Smith said the department is grateful for the “generosity of our law enforcement partners.”

“Ultimately, the citizens have an expectation of us as law enforcement to work together for their best interest,” Smith said in a statement. “In this new age, we often share resources. … We also assist them when we can. Our collective goal is public safety, and the more we can do that, together, the better.”

McCarthy said the delay in attempting to repay the county was based on when Montgomery submitted documentation on their deployment and the number of city agencies that had to review the paperwork.