Montgomery County Police Department

1922–1955: Founding and expansion

The MCPD was established in early July 1922, absorbing some responsibilities from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) through Chapter 259 of the Acts of 1922. At the time, the department was designated to consist of three to six officers that were appointed to two-year terms by the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, with one officer designated as the chief. In 1927, the department was enlarged to twenty officers by Chapter 299 of the Acts of 1927.

From 1922 until 1935, the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners designated one police officer from within the MCPD's ranks to serve as its chief. In 1935, through Chapter 9 of the Acts of 1935, the regulations were changed so that the chief could be appointed from any source, at the discretion of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. In 1948, when Montgomery County transitioned to a charter government, the responsibilities of appointing chiefs for the MCPD was transferred to the Montgomery County Executive.

In 1927, the MCPD had 20 policemen. In 1931, the MCPD had 27 policemen, and by 1939, the MCPD had 35 policemen.

From 1927 to 1954, the MCPD was headquartered at the lower level of the Montgomery County Courthouse.

By 1955, the MCPD had 177 policemen.

Over the course of several decades, the MCPD would eventually grow to over a thousand officers.

1976–1979: DiGrazia and departmental politics

In 1976, the title of the head of the MCPD was changed from superintendent to chief. Also that same year, Robert J. DiGrazia, a former Bostonian policeman, became the MCPD's chief, intending to brings new changes to the department. However, he became unpopular with many officers in the department as they believed he was too sharply critical and demanding of them. As a result, he was removed from his position by the county executive in December 1978.

1979–1991: Crooke and modernization

In 1979, a computerized fingerprinting system was installed for use by the MCPD. Also that year, Bernard Crooke became the MCPD's chief. He would serve in that capacity before dying in 1988.

By the 1980s, the MCPD had 750 officers, and by September 1991 it had 849 officers.

1991–1999: Mehrling and the NAACP

On September 24, 1991, Clarence Edwards became the chief of the MCPD, becoming the department's first African American chief as well as the first African American chief of a Maryland county police department. However, in December 1994, Edwards was relieved of his position by Montgomery County Executive Douglas Duncan, who had taken office that same month, a move which angered the local chapter of the NAACP. Edwards was succeeded by interim MCPD chief Carol A. Mehrling, who joined the MCPD on March 29, 1971. On February 2, 1995, Mehrling was chosen by Duncan to be the MCPD's fourteenth chief, becoming the department's first female chief. The MCPD was, at the time, the second-largest police department in the United States to be headed by a woman.

On February 17, 1997, the local Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) body voted overwhelmingly in passing a resolution of no confidence in Mehrling's abilities as chief, claiming that she was not doing enough to defend MCPD officers against accusations of misconduct and abuse by the NAACP. As a result of these allegations, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation into the operations of the MCPD. On November 17, 1998, Mehrling announced that she would retire from the MCPD and did so on February 3, 1999, with Thomas Evans becoming the acting chief.

Throughout much of the 1990s, the MCPD faced numerous allegations of abuse, excessive force, and misconduct, including fatal officer-involved shootings in Wheaton and Silver Spring in April 1999 and March 1999, respectively. These accusations resulted in the U.S. Justice Department investigating the department for three years.

1999–2003: Moose and the Beltway sniper attacks

On August 2, 1999, Charles A. Moose became the fifteenth MCPD chief, during a time when the MCPD was nearing the end of a three-year-long U.S. Department of Justice investigation into allegations of misconduct and abuse committed by its officers.

By the end of 1999, crime in Montgomery County was lower than at the start of the decade, with total violent crime down 16 percent, rapes down 23 percent, robberies down 8 percent, aggravated assaults down 19 percent, and overall crime down 9 percent.

On January 14, 2000, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed between the U.S. Department of Justice and the MCPD regarding abuses and misconduct committed by the latter. The agreement detailed how the MCPD was to address and correct the misconduct and abuses committed by its officers.

On March 12, 2002, John A. King, on Moose's recommendation, was unanimously approved as the MCPD's assistant chief by the county council, after Alan G. Rodbell retired on December 23, 2001 to fill a law enforcement job position in Arizonan city of Scottsdale.

In October 2002, several of the Beltway sniper attacks occurred in Montgomery County. Moose and the MCPD played a major role in the ensuing investigation. In June 2003, Moose resigned amid controversy over a book he helped author alongside Charles Fleming, that detailed Moose's experiences during the Beltway sniper attacks. The county government objected in stating that the MCPD chief was not allowed to profit privately from official duties; the book itself was released on September 15, 2003.

2003–2004: O'Toole and the search for a new chief

After resigning as the MCPD's chief in June 2003, Moose was succeeded by William C. "Bill" O'Toole, who served as the MCPD's acting chief until a new chief could be found.

2004–present: Manger, downsizing, and a new headquarters

On January 30, 2004, J. Thomas Manger, formerly of the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD), became the sixteenth MCPD chief.

On October 5, 2007, ten MCPD officers were charged in a "double-dipping" probe. The accused officers were alleged to have improperly billed Grady Management, a Silver Spring real estate firm, for more than 8,900 hours for which they also were compensated by the police. The accused improperly earned more than $200,000.

From its founding until 2008, the MCPD wore khaki-colored uniforms. However, in 2008, the MCPD switched to its current black-colored uniforms. These uniforms are usually worn with a ballistic vest on top of the uniform's shirt, with the word "POLICE" embroidered onto the back. However, formal uniforms for ceremonial occasions are still khaki and olive-colored.

In 2010, the MCPD shot and killed a hostage-taker at the Discovery Communications building in Silver Spring after he attempted to chase after his hostages when they attempted to flee.

The MCPD's total number of personnel declined from 2010 to 2012. In 2010, the MCPD had 1,629 policemen, but by January 2012 it only had 1,159.

Until 2012, the MCPD was headquartered at 2350 Research Boulevard in the county seat of Rockville. In 2012, the MCPD moved its headquarters from Rockville, where it had been headquartered for forty years, to the Montgomery County Public Safety Headquarters, located at 100 Edison Park Drive in Gaithersburg, Maryland, located around four miles from the former MCPD headquarters. The process of transferring the MCPD's headquarters to its new location took around two years at a cost of 108.5 million dollars. The MCPD shares the building with other county agencies, such as the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) and Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security. The MCPD's 1st District station was also consolidated into this new headquarters. The building which houses the headquarters, located near Lake Placid, was built in the 1960s and was originally used by the National Geographic Society, and later by General Electric (GE). The building was leased to the county government before a purchase date of 2014 was finalized.

On the evening of January 30, 2014, an MCPD officer shot and killed his son at their home in Gaithersburg as the latter was stabbing the officer's wife, who later died.

In December 2015, an MCPD policeman was struck and killed by an automobile being driven by an inebriated person.

2014: Interstate 270 closure

On the morning of March 11, 2014, personnel from the MCPD, Maryland State Police, Rockville City Police, and Prince George's County Police Department, acting on a report, set up a roadblock on across all twelve lanes of Interstate 270 (I-270) and walked car to car with weapons drawn. The incident brought hundreds of vehicles and thousands of motorists on the interstate to a standstill as dozens of police officers conducted vehicle-to-vehicle searches at gunpoint for bank robbers.

Controversy

A controversy over the tactics used by the MCPD ensued, with reports of officers walking down I-270 between stopped cars with weapons drawn, telling people to get back in their vehicles, and demanding commuters pop their trunks without any explanation why. One woman was reportedly shouted at by police with weapons drawn after she'd opened her car door to throw up, having gotten motion sickness from sitting in her vehicle for an extended period of time. Chief Thomas Manger defended the MCPD's actions, stating that they were justified under exigent circumstances. Don Troop, a man who witnessed the incident, told the Washington Post that a group of officers made its way to his car and other cars around him. "They were just walking along saying: 'Pop the trunk! Pop the trunk!'" Troop said he overheard a man in a truck next to him call out to another motorist: "The police are looking for bank robbers." A short time later, about nine officers approached his car — including state troopers, county police officers, and at least one plainclothes officer. Among the commands given to motorists by officers were: "stay in your car", "pop the trunk", "get your hands on the steering wheel", and "get you hands up where we can see them", according to Troop. Corporal Aaron Smith, a pilot flying a Prince George's County police helicopter dispatched to assist stated that he "saw that they were searching traffic and going vehicle to vehicle." MCPD spokesman Captain Paul Starks described the incident as a "systematic check of trunks and rear hitches" of detained vehicles.

2014: School bomb threats

In April 2014 and May 2014, the MCPD responded to several bomb threats called against public high schools in the county by a Canadian teenager from Ottawa, Canada. In all three cases, the threats were determined to be baseless after the schools in question were evacuated and searched for any explosives, in which none were found.

Organization

The MCPD is divided into four bureaus and the Office of the Chief.

Headquarters

The MCPD is headquartered at the Public Safety Headquarters at 100 Edison Park Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland, near Lake Placid. It was formerly headquartered at 2350 Research Boulevard in the county seat of Rockville.

Office of the Chief

The Office of the Chief is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the MCPD. This section also contains Community Services, Internal Affairs, Legal and Labor, Media Services, and Stress Management.

The current chief of police is J. Thomas Manger, who has held the office since January 30, 2004. He is the MCPD's 16th chief.

Until 1976, the MCPD's head policeman was known as its "superintendent", after which it was changed to its present title of "chief".

Field Services Bureau

The Field Services Bureau contains the general policing districts and the Special Operations Division.

Special Operations Division

The Special Operations Division (SOD), consists of the K-9 Unit, Emergency Services Unit, Police Community Action Team, Special Events Response Team, and Tactical Unit.

Investigative Services Bureau

The Investigative Services Bureau is responsible for providing specialized police services such as (but not limited to) the following: Criminal Investigations Division (CID), Auto Theft, Fraud, Family Crimes, Major Crimes, and Special Investigations Division.

Management Services Bureau

The Management Services Bureau is a largely non-sworn, civilian support bureau. It contains Animal Control, Emergency Communications, Budget, Personnel, Training, and other support services.

Districts

Fleet

The Montgomery County Police Department utilizes a fleet of second-generation Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors, Dodge Chargers, Chevrolet Impalas, Dodge Magnums, Harley-Davidson Police Edition motorcycles, and others. The vehicles use LED lightbars with blue "steady-burn" diodes.

The MCPD also uses Lenco BearCats for emergency situations that require an armored vehicle.

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