Maryland cops turn to Metro retiree in search for justice

In his long career with Metro, Randy Sutton occasionally heard the call on his police radio that a fellow officer needed assistance. Like his fellow cops, he was trained to come running.

This call for help was different.

It came long-distance all the way from Prince George's County, Md., where a small group of embattled officers inside the New Carrollton Police Department had read Sutton's essays on policing with honor in law enforcement journals. The cops from the city near Washington, D.C., were clearly desperate and spoke as if their lives and livelihoods depended on his assistance.

There were 100 ways he could have passed the buck and politely redirected the officers, who said their department was overrun with corruption. Maryland is far from Sutton's jurisdiction. The FBI is better equipped to investigate allegedly crooked cops. He is still recovering from serious medical problems.

"They told me, 'We have no one to turn to,' " Sutton recalls.

He flew to Washington as a private citizen and met with them in confidence. Once he heard their stories of a renegade department that allegedly practiced physical brutality, regularly purloined evidence in criminal cases, and operated an automobile seizure-and-resale scheme that netted a hefty profit, he knew he couldn't turn away.

"It was just a never-ending series of threats and intimidation and destruction of personal and professional lives," says Sutton, who retired in February after 24 years with the department following a mild stroke and a diagnosis of advanced heart disease.

In the past year, Sutton figures he has spent $11,000 of his own money and hundreds of hours investigating the claims of those officers. He has chronicled what he believes is a solid case of police corruption.

Among Sutton's findings: Weapons collected in criminal cases were being "sold out the back door" by police, those arrested were routinely mishandled, and impounded cars were sold.

"I have witnesses that say at one point up to 20 cars were for sale in the parking lot of the police department," Sutton says. (My call seeking comment to New Carrollton Police Chief David Rice Friday was not returned.)

Then there's the story of Eric Lawrence, a 19-year-old man with no prior criminal history who was shot and killed by police officers. Lawrence had purchased a seized car in another town where Rice was then chief and was a dissatisfied customer. That department paid a large sum to settle out of court.

"The scary thing is, when they killed this kid I discovered that the shooter refused to be interviewed by homicide investigators in Prince George's County," Sutton says.

Although his investigation continues as more witnesses step forward to tell their stories, Sutton has published his findings in a lengthy article on his new website, www.searchforjustice.us (click on investigations). In addition to lecturing widely on the concept of policing with honor, he is the author of the popular books "True Blue: To Protect And Serve" and "A Cop's Life: True Stories from the Heart Behind the Badge."

According to press reports in December, the mayor of New Carrollton said the FBI and Maryland State Police had cleared the police chief in the matter of selling seized cars and mistreating a suspect in custody.

Sutton has, however, begun to receive calls from the press in the region.

"The Maryland State Police told me that they don't handle criminal investigations of police departments," Sutton says, though the mayor said otherwise. "And the Prince George's county attorney's office did nothing."

Who knows, perhaps New Carrollton's close proximity to the nation's capital makes any allegations of corruption minuscule by comparison.

Until backup arrives, Randy Sutton will keep digging.

It's obvious some cops hear those calls for help better than others.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.