Prince George's police officer on racist texts and retaliation: ‘I just felt betrayed'

Officer Michael Brown said he thought he was doing the right thing when he reported another officer for use of force violations in 2020.

But Brown, a nine-year veteran of the Prince George’s County Police Department, said he wasn't prepared for what came next: an investigation that yielded a trove of text messages between fellow officers that were not only racist in nature, but exposed what some county officials describe as a call to abandon Brown and others in the line of duty.

Worse, Brown questions whether his department has done enough to protect whistleblowers like him.

“My safety wasn't … regarded as a priority,” Brown said.

The ordeal began in October 2020, when Brown and his partner assisted another officer – Cpl. Darryl Wormuth – in tracking down someone matching the description of a possible armed suspect. After apprehending the person, later identified as 17-year-old Kayvon Hines, Wormuth struck the teen in the throat, Brown and others would later testify.

“I think everyone on the scene was shocked that witnessed it,” Brown said, later adding, “We're trained not to put any kind of hands on anyone's neck.”

Brown and his partner, former PGPD Officer Thomas Lester, reported Wormuth for unnecessary use of force. Wormuth was eventually charged and convicted of second-degree assault and misconduct in office. Officials including Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy would later say Hines was not the person police were looking for.

But it’s what police investigators found on Wormuth’s cellphone during the case, Braveboy said and records show, that led to new concerns: a multitude of racist text messages Wormuth exchanged with officers, some whom were still on the force.   

For instance, while discussing a criminal investigation involving Black officers, Wormuth called them “f***ing animals” and remarked they were “black people in a white man’s job.”

In another, Wormuth texted a different cop: "God forbid we make a black person look bad, or expose them here for what they are ... f***ing animals."

Braveboy, whose office prosecuted Wormuth in the assault, said she grew so concerned about the contents of the text messages that she added Wormuth and another officer, Anthony Brooke, to her “do not call” list of police witnesses.

“As the top law enforcement officer, it is my duty to protect everyone, and I was very concerned that, knowing there were racist individuals in our department, that we were putting our citizens at risk,” said Braveboy, who notified police command of her decision with a letter in May 2021.

An attorney for Wormuth declined an interview request but said Wormuth is appealing his conviction. Wormuth, who was sentenced to 45 days and had his police powers suspended, has said he committed no wrongdoing in the Hines arrest.

An attorney for Brooke also declined comment, though court records show Brooke sued the department for trying to fire him as a result of the messages and won in a lower court. In that case, the judge ruled his personal texts – which were uncovered through a subpoena of Wormuth’s phone records -- were private and protected by the First Amendment.

'Code Red'

The texts also revealed how Wormuth and some others regarded Brown and Lester, with some calling the Black officers "snitches" and other derogatory terms.

In February 2021, an officer whom the I-Team confirmed is no longer with the force asked Wormuth for the "ID numbers" for the officers he said "snitched.”

Court records show the county would later accuse some of the texting officers of conspiring to not back up Brown’s squad in the line of duty – a retaliatory act some officers call a “code red.”

“A lot of times, as an officer, you think you're invincible,” Brown told the I-Team. “This was like, Oh, you can be touched, whether it be friendly fire or we just leave you vulnerable on scenes. You're in danger.”

But despite those actions, Brown said higher ups didn’t alert him to the possible threat to his safety. Instead, he learned about the texts through office gossip.

Brown said he approached his higher ups with his concerns in April 2021 and found a superior’s response dismissive.  

“It caught me off guard,” he said. “Like, we don't have protocol in place to safeguard officers that report malicious actions.”

He said he was eventually offered a desk duty job in a unit where injured or suspended officers go – which could’ve included the officers being punished for the troubling texts. He declined and said he wasn’t moved off patrol for seven more months.

Charges pending

News4 obtained a letter Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz sent to officers following Wormuth’s conviction earlier this year in which he thanked them for their service while cautioning, "It is so important for all of us to remember that new legislation and laws are changing the way we police  … Our words and actions are captured on cell phones. We are truly held to a higher standard."

In the letter, Aziz said his support for his officers is “unwavering.” But Brown said it’s what was missing that stood out to him – any mention of support for the whistleblowers in the case.

By that point, Brown had testified against Wormuth in his criminal trial and said he was discouraged by how many current and former officers – the majority of whom were white – showed up to support Wormuth.

“We didn't introduce race into this conversation or this incident. It was brought to us,” Brown said.

The police department declined multiple interview requests but issued two statements on behalf of Aziz that said, since he took over as chief, he has “made it clear that we do not tolerate racism within the department” and “any threat or retaliation against any officer or employee won’t be tolerated.”

The statement went on to say the department initiated administrative charges against Wormuth and a fellow officer related to the “inappropriate comments." Those cases are pending. The department said the administrative process related to Wormuth’s assault charges has resumed.

Asked specifically about how the department responded to Brown’s concerns, the chief said in the statement that, once police learned of threats of retaliation, the threats were immediately investigated by the internal affairs division and several officers linked to the allegations were suspended during the investigation.

The chief did not say how many remain on the force,  but the statement notes the department worked “hand-in-hand with the State’s Attorney’s Office, the Department of Justice and the Prince George’s County Office of Law to ensure that all aspects of the investigation were handled properly and in accordance with the law and departmental policies.”

The statement continues to say Brown and Lester’s chain of command extended their support to the officers, noting, “The safety and wellbeing of all officers is of utmost concern. Agency leadership strives to maintain communication with officers and have [sic] an open door policy should issues arise.”

Brown said that, while some of his higher ups extended support, he’s most frustrated that he was never fully briefed on the contents of the texts or who sent them, leaving him in the dark as he stayed on patrol. Brown was eventually moved to an investigator role in the fall of 2021 – roughly a year after the initial incident.

Don Quinn, whom Brown retained for the purposes of the I-Team interview, said the department’s anti-retaliation policy is lacking. The orders prohibit an officer who is the subject of a complaint from reaching out to the complainant or directing anyone else to do so.

“What does that mean to the officer on the street?” said Quinn.

“Unless you protect the protectors, you're not going far enough,” he added.

Brown's partner, who declined an interview with News4, has left the department. Brown said he doesn't know what his future on the force will be but said he doesn’t regret reporting an officer for going too far.

“Kayvon needed a voice. He needed an extra voice, an advocate in that moment. And I was proud to stand there for him,” he said.

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Reported by Tracee Wilkins, produced by Katie Leslie, shot and edited by Jeff Piper and Steve Jones.