{"id":11528941,"date":"2025-06-26T13:46:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T17:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11528941"},"modified":"2025-06-26T13:38:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T17:38:00","slug":"sheriff-gahler-police-accountability-boards-dont-know-about-policing-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/06\/26\/sheriff-gahler-police-accountability-boards-dont-know-about-policing-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheriff Gahler: Police accountability boards don’t know about policing | COMMENTARY"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the passage of the \u201cMaryland Reform Act,\u201d law enforcement leaders have been met with challenges associated with civilians serving on police accountability boards (PABs) and administrative charging committees. The individuals occupying positions on these boards receive minimal training without testing for understanding and most of them lack a clear grasp of Maryland\u2019s use-of-force laws and agency policies, yet they are tasked with making disciplinary decisions \u2014 and in some cases, are even granted investigative authority to evaluate actions taken by law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n

Police officers are required to perform the functions of their job in accordance with Maryland law and agency policy while working professionally to uphold the rule of law while keeping our communities safe. In certain situations, they are compelled to use deadly force to stop an immediate threat. Can you imagine a world where we ask our plumber to judge whether a medical doctor acted appropriately? Perhaps it would make better sense for an auto mechanic to review and oversee the activities of pharmacists? Or vice-versa in these examples? Of course, these suggestions are as outlandishly foolish as you might imagine, yet this is the process and thinking our legislators have given us when it comes to the law enforcement profession.<\/p>\n

The recent police-involved shooting in Baltimore City and subsequent comments made by members of the city’s PAB during its \u201cemergency meeting\u201d last Friday are clear examples of the concerns raised by law enforcement leaders. There is no place for activism or personal agendas when sitting in positions that review the actions of those tasked with keeping order in our communities.<\/p>\n

When tragic incidents occur, in which officers must use deadly force to neutralize a threat, a full and thorough investigation should take place before any conclusions are drawn or public statements are made that could bias the process. The comments made<\/a> by one PAB member in Baltimore City concerning that police department\u2019s use of force policy and whether officers should \u201cshoot to kill\u201d demonstrate a clear, premature and biased judgment of this incident by an activist, not an informed professional, before any investigation has been completed.<\/p>\n

Frankly, it is both disturbing and disgraceful that a member of any PAB would even need to ask whether it is departmental policy to \u201cshoot to kill.\u201d The fact that such a question was even posed highlights the alarming ignorance and complete lack of training and understanding among certain board members \u2014 individuals who have been irresponsibly entrusted with judging the split-second, life-or-death decisions made by trained law enforcement professionals.<\/p>\n

This level of uninformed commentary would be laughable if it weren\u2019t so dangerous. Our citizens and our law enforcement professionals deserve better, much better.<\/p>\n

Jeffrey Gahler is the Harford County sheriff.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This level of uninformed commentary by members of the Baltimore Police Accountability Board would be laughable if it weren’t so dangerous, writes Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":11512042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-06-26T17:46:14Z","apple_news_api_id":"0a3f4e4c-ec2a-4ce6-a9f8-010f4d737530","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-06-26T17:46:14Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ACj9OTOwqTOap-AEPTXN1MA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[503,504],"tags":[],"feature":[],"location":[325,223],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[10543],"class_list":["post-11528941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aegis","category-aegis-opinion","location-harford-county","location-maryland"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"504","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"Sheriff Gahler: Police accountability boards don't know about policing ","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"inside","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"1750996800","print_slug":"AEG-L-GAHLER-0627","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"This level of uninformed commentary by members of the Baltimore Police Accountability Board would be laughable if it weren't so dangerous, writes Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":"","print_content":"

Following the passage of the \u201cMaryland Reform Act,\u201d law enforcement leaders have been met with challenges associated with civilians serving on police accountability boards (PABs) and administrative charging committees. The individuals occupying positions on these boards receive minimal training without testing for understanding and most of them lack a clear grasp of Maryland\u2019s use-of-force laws and agency policies, yet they are tasked with making disciplinary decisions \u2014 and in some cases, are even granted investigative authority to evaluate actions taken by law enforcement officers.<\/p>

Police officers are required to perform the functions of their job in accordance with Maryland law and agency policy while working professionally to uphold the rule of law while keeping our communities safe. In certain situations, they are compelled to use deadly force to stop an immediate threat. Can you imagine a world where we ask our plumber to judge whether a medical doctor acted appropriately? Perhaps it would make better sense for an auto mechanic to review and oversee the activities of pharmacists? Or vice-versa in these examples? Of course, these suggestions are as outlandishly foolish as you might imagine, yet this is the process and thinking our legislators have given us when it comes to the law enforcement profession.<\/p>

The recent police-involved shooting in Baltimore City and subsequent comments made by members of the city's PAB during its \u201cemergency meeting\u201d last Friday are clear examples of the concerns raised by law enforcement leaders. There is no place for activism or personal agendas when sitting in positions that review the actions of those tasked with keeping order in our communities.<\/p>

When tragic incidents occur, in which officers must use deadly force to neutralize a threat, a full and thorough investigation should take place before any conclusions are drawn or public statements are made that could bias the process. The comments made<\/a> by one PAB member in Baltimore City concerning that police department\u2019s use of force policy and whether officers should \u201cshoot to kill\u201d demonstrate a clear, premature and biased judgment of this incident by an activist, not an informed professional, before any investigation has been completed.<\/p>

Frankly, it is both disturbing and disgraceful that a member of any PAB would even need to ask whether it is departmental policy to \u201cshoot to kill.\u201d The fact that such a question was even posed highlights the alarming ignorance and complete lack of training and understanding among certain board members \u2014 individuals who have been irresponsibly entrusted with judging the split-second, life-or-death decisions made by trained law enforcement professionals.<\/p>

This level of uninformed commentary would be laughable if it weren\u2019t so dangerous. Our citizens and our law enforcement professionals deserve better, much better.<\/p>

Jeffrey Gahler is the Harford County sheriff.<\/em><\/p>"},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1750959998","print_workflow_exported_username":"Philip Caldwell","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":"24225","print_status":"24232","add_export_buttons":"","print_endpoint":"tribune"},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"metered","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":11512042,"title":"TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2","filename":"TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/06\/17\/baltimore-police-investigating-officer-involved-shooting-near-upton-officials-say\/tbs-l-uptonshooting-p2\/","alt":"","author":"166","description":"","caption":"Baltimore Police respond to an officer-involved shooting in the Upton neighborhood of West Baltimore. (BPD Photo)","name":"tbs-l-uptonshooting-p2","status":"inherit","uploadedTo":11511802,"date":1750217556000,"modified":1750217602000,"menuOrder":0,"mime":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.svg","dateFormatted":"June 17, 2025","nonces":{"update":false,"delete":false,"edit":false},"editLink":false,"meta":false,"authorName":"Michelle Deal Zimmerman","authorLink":"","uploadedToTitle":"West Baltimore arabber killed in Upton police shooting that wounded officer","uploadedToLink":null,"filesizeInBytes":711467,"filesizeHumanReadable":"695 KB","context":"","height":1222,"width":2037,"orientation":"landscape","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"height":"150","width":"150","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","orientation":"landscape"},"medium":{"height":180,"width":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg?w=300","orientation":"landscape"},"large":{"height":614,"width":1024,"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg?w=1024","orientation":"landscape"},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg","height":1222,"width":2037,"orientation":"landscape"}},"custom_caption":""},"data":[{"id":11512042,"title":"TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2","filename":"TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/06\/17\/baltimore-police-investigating-officer-involved-shooting-near-upton-officials-say\/tbs-l-uptonshooting-p2\/","alt":"","author":"166","description":"","caption":"Baltimore Police respond to an officer-involved shooting in the Upton neighborhood of West Baltimore. (BPD Photo)","name":"tbs-l-uptonshooting-p2","status":"inherit","uploadedTo":11511802,"date":1750217556000,"modified":1750217602000,"menuOrder":0,"mime":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.svg","dateFormatted":"June 17, 2025","nonces":{"update":false,"delete":false,"edit":false},"editLink":false,"meta":false,"authorName":"Michelle Deal Zimmerman","authorLink":"","uploadedToTitle":"West Baltimore arabber killed in Upton police shooting that wounded officer","uploadedToLink":null,"filesizeInBytes":711467,"filesizeHumanReadable":"695 KB","context":"","height":1222,"width":2037,"orientation":"landscape","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"height":"150","width":"150","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","orientation":"landscape"},"medium":{"height":180,"width":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg?w=300","orientation":"landscape"},"large":{"height":614,"width":1024,"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg?w=1024","orientation":"landscape"},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg","height":1222,"width":2037,"orientation":"landscape"}},"custom_caption":""}],"rendered_content":"\"\""},"attachments":[],"authors":[{"ID":10774,"display_name":"Jeffrey Gahler","description":"","first_name":"Jeffrey","last_name":"Gahler","user_nicename":"jeffrey-gahler","user_login":"jeffrey-gahler","user_email":"","type":"guest-author","linked_account":0,"website":"","twitter":"","facebook":"","google_plus":""}],"taxonomies":{"category":[{"term_id":503,"name":"Aegis","slug":"aegis","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":503,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":24579,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":504,"name":"Aegis Opinion","slug":"aegis-opinion","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":504,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":503,"count":1275,"filter":"raw"}],"location":[{"term_id":325,"name":"Harford County","slug":"harford-county","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":325,"taxonomy":"location","description":"","parent":223,"count":25139,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":223,"name":"Maryland","slug":"maryland","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":223,"taxonomy":"location","description":"","parent":0,"count":243539,"filter":"raw"}]},"featured_media_array":{"id":11512042,"title":"TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2","filename":"TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/06\/17\/baltimore-police-investigating-officer-involved-shooting-near-upton-officials-say\/tbs-l-uptonshooting-p2\/","alt":"","author":"166","description":"","caption":"Baltimore Police respond to an officer-involved shooting in the Upton neighborhood of West Baltimore. (BPD Photo)","name":"tbs-l-uptonshooting-p2","status":"inherit","uploadedTo":11511802,"date":1750217556000,"modified":1750217602000,"menuOrder":0,"mime":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.svg","dateFormatted":"June 17, 2025","nonces":{"update":false,"delete":false,"edit":false},"editLink":false,"meta":false,"authorName":"Michelle Deal Zimmerman","authorLink":"","uploadedToTitle":"West Baltimore arabber killed in Upton police shooting that wounded officer","uploadedToLink":null,"filesizeInBytes":711467,"filesizeHumanReadable":"695 KB","context":"","height":1222,"width":2037,"orientation":"landscape","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"height":"150","width":"150","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","orientation":"landscape"},"medium":{"height":180,"width":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg?w=300","orientation":"landscape"},"large":{"height":614,"width":1024,"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg?w=1024","orientation":"landscape"},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg","height":1222,"width":2037,"orientation":"landscape"}},"custom_caption":""},"syndication_canonical":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/06\/26\/sheriff-gahler-police-accountability-boards-dont-know-about-policing-commentary\/","apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/baltimoresun.com\/2025\/06\/26\/sheriff-gahler-police-accountability-boards-dont-know-about-policing-commentary\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Sheriff Gahler: Police accountability boards don’t know about policing | COMMENTARY","url":"http:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/06\/26\/sheriff-gahler-police-accountability-boards-dont-know-about-policing-commentary\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/06\/26\/sheriff-gahler-police-accountability-boards-dont-know-about-policing-commentary\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg?w=150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/TBS-L-UPTONSHOOTING-p2.jpeg"},"articleSection":"Other","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jeffrey Gahler"}],"creator":["Jeffrey Gahler"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Baltimore Sun","logo":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/baltimore-sun-fallback.png?w=600"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2025-06-26T17:46:11Z","datePublished":"2025-06-26T17:46:11Z","dateModified":"2025-06-26T17:46:11Z"},"rendered":"