Prince George's County Police history

The County Sheriff and Police Departments were separated 1930

In the late 1950's a former Sheriff of Prince George's County was appointed United States Marshall for the District of Columbia.

In 1969, the Sheriff's office was maintaining a volunteer posse of over 500 citizens to complete its taks and the Legislature decided that something had to be done.

The Sheriff was responsible for the operation of the County jail until 1978 when the county formed the Department of Corrections, staffed by former Deputy Sheriffs.

The Deputy Sheriff's Association of Prince George's County became the official bargaining agent for Deputy Sheriffs in 1980.

In 1993 the Deputy Sheriff's Association was elected as the bargaining unit for the civilian employees of the Sheriff's Office and chartered as Lodge 112 of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Criminal investigations are limited to issues involving the Office of the Sheriff or by court order (Investigation of Casino Laws were added in 1994).

In Prince George’s County, change first became visible in 1999, when police brutality had gotten so bad that the federal government finally intervened.

The tipping point came in September 2000, when a police officer named Carlton Jones followed Howard University student Prince Jones Jr. (no relation) from Maryland, through the District and into Fairfax, Virginia.

In 2001, a federal jury in convicted her of a civil rights violation, and the following year, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The Justice Department monitored these changes until 2009, when the county and department announced the police had improved to the point that independent oversight was no longer needed.

Since 2010, county officers have fatally shot 14 people, and during three of those years, only one person was shot.

In 2011, Baker and his police chief, Mark Magaw, met with top Justice Department officials.