A local police chief in Prince George's County, Maryland, has been temporarily banned from entering the police department he's led for nearly 20 years after a confrontation with another city official.
New Carrollton Police Chief David Rice is not allowed to enter the New Carrollton Municipal Center and the police department after another city official filed a peace order, also known as a restraining order, against him.
The city official took out the peace order in late November. According to sources close to the ongoing investigation, the official felt threatened and unsafe during a heated conversation with Rice who was in full dress uniform and armed at the time. No physical contact was reported.
"I can’t tell people how to feel," Rice said in an interview with News4.
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"I feel awful that I put myself in this position," he said.
Rice has served as chief of the New Carrollton Police Department for 17 years.
"The people here are second-to-none. The residents, they, you know, we all know each other," Rice said.
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Rice did not go into the details of what led to the alleged confrontation on city property.
"I gotta do better. That's all. I mean, I’m not saying I did anything wrong, but I’m not saying that I didn’t participate in making somebody feel that way. You know, that’s never my goal. I never want to make anyone feel threatened in any way. So, I’ll just get better," Rice said.
For now, Rice is still on the job, but has to work at a station down the street.
"Fortunately, we have this wonderful sub station. So I come down here and work and I can do everything here that I can do really up at the city hall so I’m not missing a beat," Rice said.
Rice has a court hearing on the peace order later this month.
