Controversy has erupted following an official statement from Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler of the Harford County Sheriff's Office, accusing County Executive Barry Glassman's administration of complacency in a public safety matter. According to Harford County's statement, County Executive Cassilly allegedly attacked the legitimacy of concerns raised by the Deputy Sheriff's Union (DSU) regarding offensive language used by a county employee. Sheriff Gahler countered that Cassilly's administration has been "very aware" of the safety concerns.
In a recent clash, the footage of the incident in question and related information were released by the Sheriff's Office after Cassilly publicly dismissed the DSU's concerns as unfounded and politically driven. The Sheriff's statement detailed that the offending employee was arrested and that senior members of Cassilly's staff heard the audio of the vile language "within ten days of the arrest." Sheriff Gahler argued that despite being informed, the administration failed to reassign the employee to non-critical duties, which could potentially jeopardize public safety professionals.
Adding to the tension, a memorandum sent on January 16 to the Director of DES and the Director of Human Resources has surfaced, reiterating the seriousness of the situation and emphasizing the immediate need for administrative action. Sheriff Gahler stated, "Make no mistake, same as Sheriff’s Office employees, county employees can be reassigned to non-critical assignments during any administrative investigation." Sheriff Gahler also emphasized that not reassigning the individual "has nothing to do with any due process and is simply complicity and/or incompetence," according to Harford County's statement.
The County Law Department originally requested the video footage on November 18, shortly after the arrest, but was denied pending adjudication of the case. Following the conclusion of the case in which the employee was found guilty, the video became discloseable. The county, which had submitted a new request just last Friday, January 22, was promised the video to entities and individuals in accordance with Maryland Law. It would appear that the heart of the matter lies within an intragovernmental disagreement about the timeliness and nature of the response to a staffer's transgressions with public safety at stake.
