2836

VETOES

Police Department.

May 17, 1976.
Honorable John Hanson Briscoe
Speaker of the House of Delegates
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21404

Dear Mr. Speaker:

In accordance with Article II, Section 17, of the
Maryland Constitution, I have today vetoed House Bill
1220.

This bill requires that any member of the Baltimore
City Police Department who has been suspended from duty
without pay shall be provided with an official
administrative hearing within 30 days of the suspension.
The evident purpose of the bill is to ensure a rapid
conclusion to departmental charges in those instances in
which the member is without an income during the
suspension.

The Police Commissioner of Baltimore City has
advised me that the signing of House Bill 1220 will
cripple not only the efforts of his Department, but also
those of Federal and State prosecutors, to bring certain
cases involving both departmental suspension and criminal
charges to a just conclusion. A brief review of the
procedures involved will illustrate that particular
situation.

If serious charges are placed against an officer, he
may be suspended from duty pending the administrative
hearing. Only in exceptional cases would an officer be
suspended without pay, according to departmental policy.
In all cases, a Suspension Hearing is held within 24
hours in order to determine if the charges warrant
continued suspension, and, if so, whether the suspension
should be with or without pay. In only the most serious
cases will the suspension be continued without pay.

It is these rare cases, involving suspension without
pay after the Suspension Hearing, which present the
problems addressed by the Commissioner. The mandate of
House Bill 1220 applies only to suspensions without pay,
yet it is often these most serious cases which involve
not only departmental charges, but criminal charges as
well. While the requirement of an administrative hearing
within 30 days could physically be complied with in most
cases by the Department, if criminal charges have also
been lodged, the prosecutor (either the United State's
Attorney or the State's Attorney) will strongly urge the
Department to delay its hearing until any criminal
proceeding is concluded.