Talbot County Sheriff Joe Gamble is known for keeping within his lane when talking about political issues. While he does need to run for election, the Sheriff has made it a point to limit his opinion to only things he knows best, which comes down to law enforcement.
With an entire career devoted to policing, including serving on state-wide boards reviewing use of force policies, it came to no surprise to the Spy that Gamble has more than a few thoughts regarding the State of Maryland’s new laws related to law enforcement.
Just weeks ago, Annapolis lawmakers overrode Governor Hogan’s veto to pass one of the country’s most sweeping police reform bills. From the mandatory use of video cams for all police officers, new disclosure protocols of law officer records, to the repeal of Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights, the net results makes the lives of Joe Gamble and other law enforcement peers a lot more challenging in the years to come.
While Sheriff Gamble had strong opinions about many of these reforms, including his support of the the police cam mandate, he saved his strongest criticism for the new officer disciplinary process, which fundamentally changes his management role, and in fact eliminates his ability to discipline his officers.
In a series of conversations with Joe Gamble over the next few months, we share his views of this change of law and process, as well as his concerns as a publicly elected officer held accountable for the conduct of his department.
This video is approximately four minutes in length.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.