Frederick City Police Department (Maryland)

Coordinates: 39°24′49″N 77°24′47″W / 39.413701°N 77.413082°W / 39.413701; -77.413082

Frederick City Police Department
Abbreviation FPD
Agency overview
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction* State of Maryland, United States
Fredercick City Police Districts
Size 57.50 km²
Population 68,400
Legal jurisdiction Frederick, Maryland
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters 100 West Patrick Street, Frederick, MD 21701
Officers 141
Agency executive Edward Hargis, Chief of Police
Website
link
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The Frederick City Police Department (FPD) is a law enforcement organization that provides police services to the city of Frederick, Maryland, the second-largest city in that state. The department is organized into several divisions, and is responsible for policing more than 68,000 people in a land area of 22.9 square miles. FPD is headed by Edward Hargis, who was appointed Chief of Police in July 2015, replacing outgoing Chief Thomas Ledwell who resigned in September 2014.

History

In 1745, Daniel Dulany, a lawyer and land developer, founded "Frederick town" on a feeder creek of the Monocacy River. Frederick became incorporated in 1817 and had a population of 3,640. Four town constables were appointed that year to provide security on the streets and enforce animal laws.

The Police Department was created and organized in 1858. At that time, there was a captain and two constables. The department staff eventually increased the following years and quickly followed other major cities' models.[1]

Today

The department has 144 sworn officers and about 40 civilians, and is composed of several divisions that provide police services.[2] Its headquarters are located just outside the Frederick County courthouse on West Patrick Street. Like many law enforcement agencies across the country, community policing is an important part of its core services provided to the citizens of Frederick.

FPD also has an auxiliary unit composed of uniformed volunteer officers to supplement regular officers. Auxiliary officers perform essential support duties and assist sworn police officers in their daily activities as well as during special events.

Training

FPD has its own police academy, certified by the Maryland Training Police Commission. The department trains not only its own officers, but also cadets from surrounding jurisdictions including the Frederick County Sheriff's Office, the Washington County Sheriff's Office and the Brunswick Police Department. Additionally, the academy periodically trains prospects for the auxiliary police force.

Misconducts

Recent misconducts

In October 2010 Officer Megan Mattingly resigned after it was alleged that she had lied under oath in court. http://www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/officer-resigns-under-cloud-of-perjury-allegations/article_aa2249e6-75a4-5b00-b2a5-90ad44482e4d.html


In March 2012 Officer Robert Pierce was arrested after he crashed his patrol car into a guardrail. He was believed to have been driving under the influence when he lost control of the car on U.S. 15 at Jefferson Street, and was off duty at the time. He was sentenced to 2 years of unsupervised probation and 48 hours of community service. http://www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/frederick-police-officer-charged-in-possible-dui-incident/article_5a3b9d61-8b17-5830-b6c3-b4365dbc26c7.html http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/09/21/frederick-police-officer-sentenced-for-drunk-driving/


In June 2012 Frederick Police Corporal Martin Holt, who was an assistant supervisor of the midnight shift, was charged with assaulting his live-in girlfriend by hitting her several times in the chest and once in the back, according to the Frederick Police Department. He was sentenced to Probation before Judgement. http://www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/officer-charged-with-assault/article_231c3094-32e6-58be-92e9-94f2c7382ae7.html


In October 2013, Officer Charity Faith Hoxie agreed to resign from the department and "not work in law enforcement for three years." This was part of a deal that suspended charges against her for using stolen gift cards in nearby Hagerstown. http://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/courts/former-frederick-police-officer-resigns-to-end-criminal-case/article_8790002a-57c9-56eb-ae37-705b40d3be1f.html


In April 2014, Officer Benjamin Whitmore pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting his girlfriend, who was also a Frederick City Police Officer. He was sentenced to Probation Before Judgement, with 18 months of supervised probation. He ran into trouble again in February 2015 when he was taken into custody by Washington County deputies after a brief chase in Hagerstown. He was reportedly intoxicated. "Frederick officer pleads guilty to assaulting girlfriend". https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/courts/frederick-officer-pleads-guilty-to-assaulting-girlfriend/article_d9e1af94-ebde-5460-ad35-da6d217bd907.html http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/local/ex-frederick-police-officer-arrested-after-chase-crash-in-hagerstown/article_5dc6c3b6-b2e6-11e4-9651-0bbd22c587e4.html/


In June 2015, Officer Deborah Kidwell was arrested in the Boonsboro area by Washington County deputies after a vehicle accident. She was charged with DUI offense. She was sentenced to Probation Before Judgement. Frederick Police officer charged with DUI http://www.your4state.com/story/d/story/frederick-police-officer-charged-with-dui/40409/o33g7zyrtk-q9bSHTHcnGw/

See also

References

  1. ↑ About FPD https://www.cityoffrederick.com/index.aspx?NID=485/
  2. ↑ About the Department https://www.cityoffrederick.com/index.aspx?NID=99/
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.