Crime & Safety

An Evening With the Cops of Western District

Patch Editor Tim Lemke took part in a ride-along with members of the Anne Arundel County Police Department last week.

Last Friday, Patch Editor Tim Lemke took part in a community ride-along with members of the Anne Arundel County Police Department. Here's an account of his experience between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday.

-

It's a warm and sunny day west Anne Arundel County, and Cpl. Chris Anderson sits comfortably behind the wheel of his blue, unmarked police car. 

Find out what's happening in Croftonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I can see a lot of stuff sitting in this,” he said as he pulls up to the intersection at Route 3 and Route 175. 

With his eyes shielded by a pair of Oakley sunglasses, he glances from side to side. One driver nearly jumps out into the intersection before the light turns green. Anderson only shakes his closely shaved head. 

Find out what's happening in Croftonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

As he makes his way down Route 3, the 12-year Anne Arundel County Police veteran punches in some license plate numbers into his Panasonic Toughbook laptop, which is mounted just to his right. If he’s lucky, one will come up with an outstanding warrant. Nothing so far. 

A woman’s voice comes through on the scanner. A bank teller at the Old Line Bank in Crofton has hit the bank alarm. It’s not a robbery, but something relating to a counterfeit check. 

Anderson continues south on Route 3 and pulls into the bank parking lot. He sees a woman already being questioned by a member of the Crofton Police Department. 

The story goes as follows: a man and woman came into the bank and tried to cash a pair of forged checks. The man got away. The woman was caught. She’ll be brought back to the Western District Police Station in Odenton to be booked. 

Back at the station, Anderson settles inside a small room with computers and some books on police procedure. He begins typing up his report while his suspect is fingerprinted and placed into a cell. He reviews the check and notes that it’s for just over $985. Most likely, the “9” was originally a “1.”

“They keep it under $1,000 so they don’t get a felony if they get caught,” Anderson says. 

Anderson calls the woman whose check got forged. She’s not home, but she later calls back. She had some checks stolen from her mailbox. She appreciates the help. But she bristles when Anderson suggests she’ll need to testify in court.

“Oh yeah...we always need the victim,” he says, politely but forcefully.

Doing What He Can

Anderson has spent his entire career in Western District. A former Marine, he now patrols the Crofton area, but previously worked the more active areas of Meade Village, Still Meadows and Pioneer City. His time in those neighborhoods was important, he said, but he saw first-hand how police officers don’t have full control over how cases are adjudicated. Suspects picked up for drug offenses were often placed back on the street just a short time later. 

“I’d see them back on the corner ... it was like, ‘how the heck did you get back here so fast?’” he says. “I’d go to bed angry and wake up angry.”

Crofton is a bit quieter. But the forged check case on this day is somewhat unique. As he finalizes his report before heading back out, Anderson charges the suspect with a number of crimes, including forgery and theft. He hopes at least one charge sticks. 

“Every Day is Different”

As the sun begins to set, Cpl. Kelly Harding is quickly heading west on Route 32. The 15-year veteran has held a number of jobs in the department, but her most recent role has her patrolling the areas of Laurel and Maryland City. The scanner is quiet, but she expects some activity as Friday night approaches. 

Harding makes her way down the busy Route 1 corridor, then hangs a left onto Brock Bridge Road. Her friend, Cpl. Juan Honesto, is already on the scene of an oil spill at the intersection at Whiskey Bottom Road.

Harding arrives to find a bit of a mess. There’s grease all over the road, most likely from a truck leaking cooking oil. The officers call the county Department of Public Works, and the Maryland Department of the Environment. Honesto stays at the scene to direct cars away from the grease. Hardy heads back on patrol. 

“Every day is different,” Harding says. “You never know what you’re going to get into.”

On this night, Harding began her shift afraid she’d be “drafted” into working an additional four hours beyond her typical eight-and-a-half hour shift. To her surprise, someone else volunteered, which means she’ll probably be on the hook the next day. 

As she makes her way down Brock Bridge Road toward Annapolis Junction, she describes some of her most high-profile cases. She winces in describing one bloody scene at a Laurel hotel, in which a man had stabbed a tortured another over a period of hours.  

There was also the 2005 murder of Crofton teen Christopher Jones, a case that she investigated. 

“I told his mother ‘I am going to find out who did this,’” Harding recalls. “And the next day, I was able to call her and tell her, ‘we know who they are, and they are under arrest.’” 

Motels and Liquor Stores

Harding makes her way to Route 198 and pulls into the Maryland City Fire Department. She stops in to heat up a dinner of chicken and broccoli—she doesn’t do fast food. The police department used to have a substation out this way, but recently closed it to save money. Hardy doesn’t mind, as the firefighters like having her around. 

As the sun sets, Harding heads back out to patrol the area near the Garden Inn and Red Crown Inn. These motels are a frequent source of complaints involving drug use and prostitution.

At the Red Crown Inn, she walks the halls, sniffing doorways in a search for the scent of marijuana.

“It’s still early,” Harding says, after finding that most guests are on their best behavior.

At the Garden Inn, she rolls slowly through the area for a bicycle that was reported stolen. It doesn’t turn up.  A man walks by with a young dog—possibly a pit bull—on a leash. 

“Oh, he’s beautiful,” Harding says after rolling down her car window. “How old? What mix is he?”

“Seven months. He’s not a mix,” the man replies. 

“Do you have tags for him?”

The man nods. 

Pulling back out on Route 198, Harding sees a the driver of a Chevrolet Cruz make an illegal left turn into a shopping center. She pulls the car over, but only issues a warning. 

The scanner chirps. The owner of Jackie’s Liquors is reporting a shoplifting attempt. Harding races up Route 198 and arrives to see Honesto already there. A young teen is inside; the owner locked the store doors before he could escape. 

Harding doesn’t always bring shoplifters in to be booked, but this one is coming in. He’s a 14-year-old, standing about six feet tall, and Harding recognizes him. He stole a bottle of Grey Goose from the Finish Line Liquors just a few days before, she says. 

Time for another trip back to Western headquarters. 


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

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.