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Washington Examiner
17 August 2009

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Montgomery County Police, MD

Moonlighting casts shadows ove

The part-time jobs of Montgomery County police officers are causing the county plenty of headaches.

Although the outside jobs, which range from security guards to fishing guides, must be approved by an assistant police chief and the county's Ethics Commission, the officers are on their own once approved.

"We're not supervising officers while they're on part-time work," said spokesman Lt. Paul Starks. "It's not our responsibility."

The county is currently investigating a police training company owned by two police officers after the Sheriff's Office said the firm may have gotten money from a taxpayer-funded tuition assistance program for guns sold at a deep discount.

Earlier this summer, a handful of officers working as part-time actors upset a Northwest District neighborhood when they used police cars and guns to stage a SWAT raid for a TV show without advance warning.

And two years ago, at least five officers lost their jobs after an investigation of double-dipping found officers improperly charged a building company $200,000 for security work performed while they were actually on duty.

The vast majority of secondary jobs the county approves for department employees involve security or traffic control. There are several exceptions, however, including an electronics store clerk, a magician at children's parties, a pilot and an actor.

And a handful of officers were approved to own their own companies, including some that offer outside training to police officers. Some of those companies have come under county scrutiny since the tuition-money-for-guns investigation.

Sheriff Raymond Kight recently denied an application for one of his deputies to take a martial arts class from a company owned by a Montgomery County police officer, saying he didn't think the class was an appropriate use of the tuition assistance program.

But Officer Ken Stephens said his training company, called Bando Systems, was "absolutely legitimate." His company offers a yearlong, $1,500 self-defense course "specific to the environment, responsibilities and legal issues of the law enforcement profession."

Public records show at least one other police-owned firm geared toward training police officers. Gaithersburg Police Chief John King, a former Montgomery police officer, was approved by the county in 2007 to own a company called Executive Police Training. County officials said no money from the tuition assistance program was paid to the company, which was forfeited in 2008 for failing to file property returns.

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Washington Examiner17 August 2009

Moonlighting casts shadows ove

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Washington Examiner
17 August 2009