Police fail test of transparency on stolen gun
Every day, the Annapolis Police Department puts out a list of crimes.
It’s not every crime, but it represents kind of a curated list of bad things police want Annapolis residents to know. It’s not usually a big list, Annapolis remains largely a safe city.
So how on earth could anyone at Taylor Avenue think the loss of a police officer’s service weapon and secure radio was not a relevant bit of information to share?
And how can Chief Ed Jackson expect the public to trust information coming from his department as an honest assessment of public safety concerns when the officer who puts out the daily roundup is the one whose weapon was stolen?
We aren’t really qualified to say whether the recommended 45-day suspension for Cpl. David Stokes, the department public information officer, is appropriate. It’s up to Jackson. But serious consequences certainly seem called for in this case. What about Jackson himself?
He wasn’t the one who drove to a friend’s house in Severna Park in September and decided to tuck his Smith & Wesson M&P .40 caliber semiautomatic and encrypted radio under the seat of his truck. Jackson didn’t return to his pickup about 2 a.m. to find it had been broken into and his gear stolen.
But it sure was Jackson who decided there was no reason to tell the public about the theft of a deadly weapon. He informed Mayor Gavin Buckley, according to a city spokesperson. That means Buckley supported the cockamamie plan to keep this secret as long as possible.
Jackson and Buckley failed to see the hypocrisy in having a spokesman for police withhold information on a crime involving the department and himself.
Have no illusions. Police departments aren’t filled with people eager to discuss their screw-ups, no organization is. And there are enough stolen or illegal guns on the streets of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County that one more isn’t going to start a crime wave.
But one gun could certainly kill someone and even though the police radio has been disabled it remains a risk, too. That device could be used to give someone the appearance of a law enforcement officer. This is more than just a theft.
Here is what should have happened. It’s not rocket science.
Jackson and the mayor should have held a news conference in September, explained that an officer’s weapon had gone missing, announced a reward for its return and laid out what would happen next: Internal review, appropriate discipline and a study of department policies and training on weapons.
Because county police are investigating this theft, they should have been there too. At a minimum, county police should have told the public about the crime in its daily roundup.
Instead, Jackson opted to keep quiet. Discipline against an officer was involved, so there are be limits on what the chief could say under current Maryland law. This was only made public because trial board proceedings like those for Stokes Thursday and Friday are open, even if the topic is kept confidential until the session begins.
This is another bit of evidence that momentum for reform of police oversight in the General Assembly is warranted.
Instead, Stokes’ gun and radio are floating out there somewhere, and the trust Jackson is working hard to build in this community just took a self-inflicted wound.
If Buckley and his chief expect the public to respect the department and its leaders, they have to be candid. They can’t hide crimes because they are embarrassing to the police.
The mayor deferred to the chief on this incident, a mistake. The City Council, particularly the Public Safety Committee under Alderwoman Rhonda Pindell Charles, should ask tough questions in public.
And we hope that gun and radio are recovered before someone gets hurt.