New Md. Police Chief Known as Steady Hand

By Michael Amon and David Snyder
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, December 12, 2003; Page B03
 

A year ago, Thomas E. "Tim" Hutchins was fresh off his resounding reelection to a third term in the General Assembly. But within a few days, it was clear he coveted another job: superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

Touting his 21 years as a trooper, Hutchins sought the position vigorously in the month after Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) was elected governor. When Ehrlich passed him over for Baltimore Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris, Hutchins was blunt in his disappointment.

"I brought more to the table than Mr. Norris brought to the table," he said in an interview in January.

With Norris's sudden resignation after his indictment on federal charges this week, Ehrlich turned to Hutchins and gave the Southern Maryland Republican a chance to show what he can do with the state's top law enforcement post.

"Certainly, it makes me feel good that the governor . . . thought enough of me for the job," Hutchins said yesterday in an interview.

State troopers, many of them disenchanted with Norris, said Hutchins's appointment as interim superintendent could bring a steady hand to a troubled agency.

"He has a reputation for getting things done," said Sgt. Jon W. Norris (who is not related to Edward Norris), the police union president in Charles County who has worked with Hutchins on legislation. "You don't want a polarizing figure running that office right now, and there's nothing I know that's controversial about Tim."

Hutchins wasted little time jumping into his assignment: Yesterday, he stopped at barracks in La Plata and Annapolis to chat with troopers. He also has hired a friend, former state police captain Jack Howard, to help him make the transition to his new job.

"All of the command staff will have to answer this question: How am I supporting the troopers?" Hutchins said.

Hutchins had widespread support within the ranks last year when Ehrlich was picking his cabinet, current and former troopers said. The governor named Hutchins secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, a post Hutchins gave up when Norris resigned Wednesday.

Under Norris, many troopers spoke bitterly of punitive transfers, an arrogant attitude among top brass and rumors that Norris was being investigated by a federal grand jury. That panel brought a four-count indictment, alleging that Norris drew money from a special Baltimore police account to buy liquor and pay for romantic liaisons.

"There has been a cloud hanging over us that we want to move out from under," said Capt. Michael Spaulding, commander of the state police barracks in Leonardtown.

Colleagues said Hutchins wanted the $144,000-a-year job because he knew the department inside and out. Enforcing drug and highway laws will be major priorities, but there will be no major changes in policy or staff, at least right away, Hutchins said. Ehrlich has said that if Norris is exonerated, he will be reinstated.

Hutchins, 58, grew up in the bucolic Calvert County community of Barstow. As a teenager, he said, he saw two job paths laid out by his family: His older brother was a state trooper, and his father dabbled in politics and once ran for a U.S. House seat.

After serving a tour in Vietnam in 1966, Hutchins chose law enforcement, working as a guard in the Maryland prison system before joining the state police in 1973. His first assignment was close to home at the Waldorf barracks.

"He was no slouch," said Charles County Sheriff Frederick E. Davis (R), a good friend who worked with Hutchins in Waldorf. "He was just like he is now, a go-getter."

Hutchins rose to the rank of captain and took over the police academy in the early 1990s. He retired in 1994 to pursue his other passion: politics. Running as a Republican in a county dominated by Democrats, Hutchins won a seat in the House of Delegates.

In Annapolis, he served on the House Judiciary Committee, where he was known as a strong advocate for police and prosecutors. But Hutchins angered some black residents when he was one of two Maryland lawmakers to reject a bill in 2001 requiring the state police and other agencies to document the race of drivers pulled over in traffic stops.

"I think the state police have done a very good job addressing" racial profiling, he said yesterday. "I think we can move forward now."

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