Maryland’s Top Cop Is Calling It Quits

Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Terrence B. Sheridan is stepping down.

Governor O’Malley made the announcement on Friday.

The Governor also announced that Marcus L. Brown, currently chief of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, will take over as MSP Superintendent on August 1st.

Prior to becoming Superintendent In 2007, Sheridan served as Chief of the Baltimore County Police Department, a position he held for more than 11 years.

Chief Brown has served as the head of the MDTA Police since 2007. He previously served as the Deputy Commissioner of Operations for the Baltimore Police Department.

Release From Governor O’Malley’s Office

Governor Martin O’Malley today announced the retirement of Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Terrence B. Sheridan. Colonel Sheridan was appointed Superintendent by Governor O’Malley in June, 2007. During a law enforcement career that began with the Maryland State Police and then Chief of the Baltimore County Police Department, before becoming Superintendent, Colonel Sheridan has served the citizens of Maryland for 46 years. Ensuring a smooth transition in leadership, Governor O’Malley announced that Marcus L. Brown, currently chief of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Police, will replace Colonel Sheridan as MSP Superintendent effective August 1st.

“There is no more important responsibility of our state, local or municipal governments than that of public safety,” Governor O’Malley said. “Colonel Sheridan has done a tremendous job leading the more than 2,500 employees of the Maryland State Police. With 46 years of law enforcement experience, Colonel Sheridan helped strengthened our relationship with local, state and federal law enforcement to improve public safety and homeland security.”

“It has been a great honor and privilege to lead the dedicated hard working men and women of the Maryland State Police,” said Colonel Sheridan. “Working with our federal, state and local partners, we have made important strides in improving public safety during these challenging times. I look forward to spending more time with my family and pursuing other career opportunities.”

“I am humbled by Governor O’Malley’s decision to allow me to lead the men and women of the Maryland State Police,” said Chief Brown. “Colonel Sheridan has made significant achievements over the last several years and I look forward to building on those accomplishments and continuing to serve the citizens of Maryland with professionalism.”

Prior to becoming Superintendent, Sheridan served as Chief of the Baltimore County Police Department, a position he held for more than 11 years. Before leading Baltimore County’s police force, Sheridan worked in the Baltimore County Public School System as the Executive Assistant for Student Safety. Before that, Sheridan served for 30 years with the Maryland State Police, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Chief of the Bureau of Drug Enforcement. In his career, Sheridan worked in patrol, internal affairs with the Maryland State Police and Division of Corrections, special operations, criminal intelligence and criminal investigations.

Colonel Sheridan’s accomplishments include:

• Firearms Enforcement Task Forces – Organized gun task forces with local, state and federal partnerships. Four task forces are currently in operation in the Baltimore, Prince George’s County, Hagerstown, and Salisbury regions.

• DNA program milestones – Oversaw Governor O’Malley’s commitment to eliminate the backlog of more than 24,000 convicted offender DNA samples. Since 2007, the number of convicted offender profiles entered into the database has more than tripled.

• Statewide interoperability program – Oversaw procurement and implementation of a statewide communication infrastructure that would enable first responders in all 24 Maryland jurisdictions to communicate with each other. The first of five regions in Maryland is expected to be operational in the near future.

• CAD/RMS Approval – Implemented a plan to provide the Maryland State Police with a modern computer dispatch and records management system. All public safety and criminal justice partners including police, fire, emergency medical services, aviation, courts, and other related systems can be served by the system, significantly enhancing the efficiency and decision making of the State’s dispatchers, officers, analysts, and administrators.

• Gang Elimination Task Force – Established the Gang Elimination Task Force Project, which serves as the lead in a centralized information clearinghouse for sharing criminal gang related law enforcement information in the Mid-Atlantic region.

• License Plate Recognition Program (LPR) – Currently, there are 122 networked LPR systems from 38 law enforcement agencies. Maryland is the first state in the nation to create a centralized statewide network for LPR systems.

• Regional Automated Property Information Database (RAPID) – In 2009, the RAPID database was created under the supervision of the Maryland State Police. In 2010, police made almost 500 arrests and recovered $5.2 million in stolen property with the assistance of the database.

• New Hagerstown Barrack Under Construction – Construction is underway on a $10 million, 33,000-square feet building that will more than triple the size of the existing Maryland State Police Hagerstown Barrack. It will house also house an expanded satellite crime lab and enable law enforcement agencies to be co-located by providing office space for the Maryland Natural Resources Police and the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM).

• Warrant Apprehension Task Forces – MSP is a key partner in two multi-agency/multi-jurisdictional warrant task forces operating in the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas. The efforts of these units provide significant assistance to the Governor’s goal of reducing violent crime in Maryland.

• Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center – Helped increase MSP’s role in this cooperative law enforcement center which is committed to preventing terrorist acts or other types of major criminal activity in Maryland.

• Auto Theft Task Forces – Participated in the operation of two multi-agency / multi-jurisdictional auto theft task forces, the Washington Area Vehicle Enforcement (WAVE) and Baltimore Regional Auto Theft Task Force (RATT). The Maryland Vehicle Theft Prevention Council, which provides grant funding across the state for auto theft enforcement and prevention initiatives, is an agency of the Maryland State Police.

• Work Zone Automated Speed Enforcement Program – Oversaw implementation of this program to reduce highway fatalities and injuries that occur in work zone regions and increasing safety for both motorists and highway workers.

• Automating State Police Licensing Division – In 2010, the Maryland State Police began automating the processes associated with the tasks performed by the Licensing Division.

Marcus L. Brown has served as the chief of the MDTA Police since 2007. Chief Brown previously served as the Deputy Commissioner of Operations for the Baltimore Police Department, responsible for over 3,000 officers and all operational units. During his career with the Baltimore Police Department, his commands included the Northwest Patrol District, the Special Weapons and Tactics Team, the Narcotics Unit and the Internal Affairs Unit as well as assignments to the Legal Affairs Unit and the Training Academy.

Chief Brown is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University and the University Of Baltimore School Of Law. He is a member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Executive Institute and serves on the Maryland State Sentencing Commission.

Chief Brown is an active credentialed Assessor for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). He is a certified facilitator for Franklin Covey’s The Nobility of Policing Workshop and currently serves as the 2nd Vice President of the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association.

Accomplishments of MDTA Police under Chief Brown include:

• The MDTA Police have been repeatedly recognized by the TSA and the US Coast Guard for their efforts to provide security and law enforcement services at the BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and the Port of Baltimore during the last four years.

• The number of traffic crashes occurring on Authority roadways has consistently declined on an annual basis over the past four years resulting in recognition from Maryland’s Office of Highway Safety.

• The Department’s License Plate Recognition (LPR) program was expanded and the Electronic Enforcement Unit was created during Chief Brown’s tenure which resulted in the apprehension of numerous violators, fugitives and the recovery of stolen vehicles.

• The MDTA Police play a vital role in Governor O’Malley sponsored Statewide 700 MHz Radio System Project and Computer Aided Dispatch /Records Management System (CAD/RMS) Project. The Statewide 700 MHz Radio system project will allow police and other public service agencies to have interoperability throughout Maryland. The CAD system will enhance police dispatch capabilities by providing timely, accurate, complete and up-to-date information to officers in the field.

• Chief Brown, in an effort to ensure that all law enforcement activities were conducted in a non-biased manner, created the Department’s Non-Biased Policing Section. The unit coordinates related training which includes the U.S. Department of Justice Non-Biased Policing Training Curriculum. Additionally, command level training was conducted at the New York Museum of Tolerance and “train-the-trainer” course from the Tolerance Center of Los Angeles. Under Chief Brown, the MDTA Police became active participants in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Law Enforcement and Society: Lessons of the Holocaust program.

• The MDTA Police is a nationally accredited police department through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). In order to be accredited, member agencies must meet over 400 standards that represent “best practices” in law enforcement. Due to Chief Brown’s leadership, the MDTA Police will become accredited in CALEAS’s Communications and Training Academy programs resulting in receipt of the prestigious Tri-Arc Award.

• Chief Brown has strongly encouraged the MDTA Police to participate in many community oriented events. The MDTA Police organized the Ft. McHenry Tunnel Run and the ICC run, both supporting the Maryland Special Olympics. The MDTA Police continues to participate annually in the “Toys for Tots” campaign during the holiday season.

• The MDTA Police served as a host agency for the annual National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) Conference in 2010 and the regional NOBLE “Blessing of the Badge” event. Additionally, the MDTA Police hosted the Mid-Atlantic Association of Women in Law Enforcement (MAAWLE) Annual Training Conference in 2010. During both conferences, Chief Brown provided opening remarks and facilitated workshops on the Nobility of Policing.