Crime & Safety
Judge: Howard County Police Used Illegal Quotas
A DUI charge was thrown out after a judge said officers were working on an illegal quota system.
A Howard County judge said that the police department used an illegal quota system in its DUI enforcement and dismissed a DUI charge against a woman who was arrested on Main Street last year, according to a report in the Baltimore Sun.
At the center of the case was a memo, obtained by the prosecutor, that Howard County Police Chief William McMahon said repeated wording from a grant that the county received, the Sun reported. The grant mandated that “an average of 3-4 citations must be written per hour on each of these details by each officer or future funding may be withheld.”
In an interview with Patch, McMahon said of judges decision: "I was surprised and disappointed and I think it's a bad ruling."
Find out what's happening in Ellicott Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here
