Prince George's Police Union Says Some Names Don't Belong on ‘Do Not Call' List of Officers

NBC Universal, Inc.

The president of Prince George's County’s police union says some of the names of current and former officers the state’s attorney says lack credibility to testify in court don’t belong on the list.

Union President Angelo Consoli says former officers with older cases who are no longer in the department should not be on the do not call list.

“It's time to move on and move forward with the reforms that we have in place and not try and pull up 10-, 15-, 20-year-old wounds, because that’s what half of those are,” Consoli said.

“We have one as old as, I believe, 17, 18 years old,” he said. “At what point do you get to outgrow what you did 17 years ago.”

Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy and Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby released their lists of officers who they say lack credibility last week. Braveboy’s list includes officers who were recently fired or retired, including Edward Finn, who is under an internal affairs investigation and facing federal tax evasion charges; Darryl Wormuth, who's awaiting trial on assault charges; and Michael Owen, who's awaiting trial on murder charges.

“By putting their names on your states' attorney’s list, flash out to the whole world, you've almost declared them guilty prior to going to court, which totally against the fundamental right of being innocent until proven guilty,” Consoli said.

Braveboy said Friday cases can be appealed, which is why older names are included on the list. The union says it’s an attempt to embarrass the department and officers, including some with expunged records. 

Local

Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information

GMU cricket stadium proposal scrapped

Nationals place Stephen Strasburg on 60-day injured list

“This is the only list I know of in America where the person who is on it as not ability to get off it except for begging the person who put them on it to take them off it, which is totally unfair,” Consoli said.

Consoli said officers who are under investigation but have not been charged also should be removed from the list.  

The union said it will continue its conversations with Braveboy in hopes of changing her mind about some of the names on the list.

The list includes the names of 45 current and former Prince George’s County Police Department officers, plus 12 officers from other agencies in the county. The officers could have been called to testify in cases under investigation or that have been appealed.

The Prince George's County Police Department released a statement, saying in part, "Of the 17 officers included on the list, seven are under state or federal indictment and suspended without pay, two are on admin leave, and the remainder are assigned to non-public admin positions.”

According to a published policy, the Prince George’s County’s state’s attorney’s office will not sponsor officers’ testimony if the office has evidence that suggests that:

  • “The officer made a material misstatement under oath, in an affidavit or probable cause statement, or whose dishonesty affected the charging status of a civilian;
  • The officer was convicted of an impeachable offense or convicted of an offense that was committed in his/her official capacity; or
  • The officer acted in a manner that demonstrates he/she is biased (i.e. racist, homophobic or otherwise prejudiced).”

The office added: “In instances where the evidence does not fall within the above categories, the SAO will exercise its discretion in reviewing the facts and circumstances to determine the appropriate action (i.e. when an officer is acquitted of an impeachable offense). The current list of officers that the SAO will not sponsor consists of both active and inactive law enforcement whose conduct falls within at least one of the enumerated criteria listed above."

Contact Us