The Worcester County Commissioners appointed representatives from across the county to serve on the newly-established civilian Police Accountability Board (PAB) and Administrative Charging Committee (ACC), which were implemented under the Maryland Police Accountability Act, a State law that became effective in July 2022.
The seven-member PAB appointed by the commissioners includes Chair Gregory Tate, Vice Chair Joseph Theobald, Jerred Johnson, Mary Burgess, Quincy Shockley, Carol Frazier, and John Simms, III.
The five-member ACC includes Dr. Mark Bowen, John Trumpower, and James Beard, along with Simms and Tate. The ACC is composed of the PAB chair, two civilian members selected by the PAB, and two civilian members selected by the commissioners.
“The PAB has received no complaints as of yet, which is a testament to the fine work of all the departments,” said Tate, a retired Secret Service Internal Affairs inspector.
The PAB serves as the overall governing body of the system of police discipline in Worcester County. The ACC will review complaints and investigations of police misconduct, determine whether an officer should be charged with misconduct, and if charged recommend discipline from the State-created matrix.
A three-member Trial Board tasked with conducting hearings if an officer does not accept the disciplinary measures recommended by the ACC will be chaired by a retired or administrative law judge appointed by the commissioners, a civilian appointed by the PAB, and a police officer, who is of equal rank to the officer accused of misconduct, will be appointed by the head of the law enforcement agency.
More information about the PAB is available at www.co.worcester.md.us/PAB.