Police Leader Draws Praise
Superintendent's Priorities Include Increasing Staffing

By Eric Rich
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 6, 2004; Page HO05
 

Col. Thomas E. "Tim" Hutchins retired from the Maryland State Police almost a decade ago, easing into a life of politics and policy as a Republican delegate in the State House.

Or so he thought.

Just after Hutchins began his third term as a Charles County delegate, he was called upon to join the administration of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R). In February 2003, Hutchins was asked to be the acting secretary and soon the secretary of veterans affairs -- a fitting position for a man whose first vote was an absentee ballot cast from a bunker in South Vietnam (1966, Spiro T. Agnew for governor).

Then in December, Ehrlich asked him to temporarily lead the state police after superintendent Edward T. Norris was indicted on federal charges that he illegally spent thousands of dollars in Baltimore police funds on extramarital liaisons and other indulgences. When Norris pleaded guilty March 8 to conspiracy to commit fraud and filing a false tax return, Ehrlich named Hutchins to permanently take over the $125,000-a-year post as secretary of the state police.

"I was very enthusiastic about it," said Hutchins, 58, who is married and has two children, ages 6 and 32. He was commander of the state police academy when he retired in 1994 and is the fourth leader to be drawn from within the ranks since the agency was created in 1935.

Hutchins, who is also a command sergeant major in the National Guard, began a methodical analysis of the agency, which he realized had changed greatly in the decade since his retirement.

"I'm pretty doggedly methodical," he said. "I have an assessment team that began work in January. I'll have to work through the findings with my staff and be able to determine what adjustments might be needed."

Hutchins said this week that he has a "basic report" from the team, but he declined to discuss the findings.

Although it is unclear where those findings may take him, Hutchins's leadership is already receiving high marks from union officials, many of whom were sharply critical of Norris.

"He's about 100 percent better than Norris," said Dan Poist, executive director of the State Law Enforcement Officers Labor Alliance. "He brings integrity back to the state police. So far he's been very responsive to the concerns of the rank and file, the people out there actually doing the job."

Poist described Hutchins as "a levelheaded thinker" with important experience in the agency.

"One of his other strengths is, having been a delegate, he understands the way Annapolis works, and that really is crucial for a position this significant," Poist said.

Hutchins has said his priorities include addressing staffing shortages and upgrading computer and radio equipment. The Baltimore Sun reported last month that Hutchins hopes to increase the 1,550-trooper force by several hundred.

"We need at least 1,800 troopers at a minimum if we're going to do more than react to accidents," Hutchins was quoted as saying in the Sun article.

In an interview this week, Hutchins discussed several top-level management changes he instituted even before his appointment was made permanent. Among them, Lt. Col Edwin L. Lashley was named to replace Lt. Col. Mark S. Chaney as commander of the operations bureau. Chaney was demoted two ranks, to captain, in a move that Hutchins declined to discuss. Hutchins did say that Chaney has since retired.

He also said he named Lt. Col. Robert J. McGainey bureau chief for administrative services, replacing an official who, the Sun reported, left the agency shortly after Norris's resignation in December.

Poist said the personnel changes "corrected" some "inappropriate" promotions during the Norris era.

"I'm sure we're going to have our differences eventually, but it's been very easy to work with him. And we look forward to hopefully having a continued good relationship with him," Poist said.

© 2004 The Washington Post Company