Taneytown police chief, officer are placed on leave after FBI search

The city of Taneytown has placed its chief of police, William Tyler, and another officer on administrative leave after federal law enforcement agents executed a sealed search warrant at the Taneytown Police Department on Tuesday. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed the search on Jan. 15, Jim Wieprecht, acting city manager, said. “We don’t know the full nature of the matter,” Wieprecht said Thursday. Wieprecht said he was not allowed to identify the other officer that was placed on administrative leave. A voicemail left on Tyler’s cellphone Thursday evening was not immediately returned. The FBI visited the Taneytown Police Department Tuesday for “court authorized law enforcement activity,” said Dave Fitz, a public affairs specialist with the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office. Tyler, a 1981 graduate of Francis Scott Key High School, has been Taneytown police chief since 2002. According to his LinkedIn profile, Tyler started with the department in 1994. Robert Stokes and Kristerfer Burnett, along with two staffers, will be in New Orleans on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. During the trip, they will interview clergy, law enforcement officials, politicians and others who have interacted with Michael Harrison, according to a statement released by Baltimore City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young on Wednesday. Afterward, they will publish a report to be made available to the public. warrant. Reuschlein declined to comment when reached by phone Thursday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:45 a.m. Feb. 15 in Carroll County District Court.