Program Description

  Police Accountability Board

The purpose of the Police Accountability NDA (the NDA) is to provide program support for the functions and instrumentation of the two independent public bodies it funds: the Police Accountability Board (the Board) and the Administrative Charging Committee (the Committee). Funding in the NDA accommodates the administrative needs of nine Board members and five Committee members. Administrative and operating costs incurred by those bodies include expenses for meetings, staffing support, salary compensation for Board and Committee members, office supplies, printing, interpreter services, legal advice, software licensing, and stipends for civilians appointed by the Board to serve on trial boards of police officers. The operations of the Board and the Committee are independent of all Montgomery County law enforcement agencies and leadership.

The Board is responsible for receiving and forwarding complaints of police misconduct to the appropriate agency for investigation, reviewing the outcomes of disciplinary matters considered by the Committee on a quarterly basis, meeting with the directors of local law enforcement agencies on a quarterly basis, and appointing civilians to serve on trial boards of officers accused of misconduct. See LMC 35-24(g). The Board is also responsible for publishing an annual report which describes the activities of the Board, identifies any trends in the disciplinary process of police officers in the County, and recommends changes to policy that would improve police accountability. See LMC 35-24(i).

The Committee is responsible for reviewing the investigative files (including body camera footage) prepared by law enforcement agencies in response to complaints of misconduct, determining whether the officer(s) should be administratively charged and recommending appropriate discipline, and issuing a written opinion in relation to each complaint of misconduct describing its findings, determinations, and recommendations. See LMC 35-25(i). The Committee must also include in its written opinions whether any of the allegations of misconduct are unfounded (due either to factual insufficiency or limitations in existing policy to address the situation) or if the officer(s) should be exonerated. See LMC 35-25(i)(5). Regardless of disposition, the Committee must provide a copy of its written opinions to the director of the appropriate law enforcement agency, to the accused officer, and to the complainant. LMC 35-25(i)(7). As is the case for all Administrative Charging Committees throughout Maryland, the Committee can only have five members, regardless of the Committee's total workload or size of the County. See Maryland Public Safety Article § 3-104(a)(2); see also LMC 35-25(b).