Defense Lawyers Want Names of Suspended Police Officers

Credibility for Active Cases a Worry, Several Say in Request to State's Attorney

Several defense lawyers who practice in Montgomery County said they have asked the state's attorney's office for the names of nine suspended officers to determine whether any played significant roles in active cases.

The attorneys said the credibility of the officers -- who were suspended while authorities probe allegations that they billed a private employer for hours during which they were on the county payroll -- could be challenged if they played significant roles in active cases.

"Everyone is trying to get the list," defense lawyer Neil Jacobs said. "I have a drug case Monday in Silver Spring. If the four involved officers in my case aren't there, I'm going to be asking some questions."

Another defense lawyer, Stephen Mercer, asked a prosecutor during a hearing Thursday whether any of the suspended officers had played a role in his case, arguing that their potential involvement could be relevant and should be disclosed to the defense.

The police department has not identified the officers. Authorities acknowledged the suspensions Wednesday after receiving inquiries from The Washington Post but have not provided details.

A spokesman for State's Attorney John McCarthy would not say how the office will handle the issue.

"This office is well aware of its legal and ethical obligations, and we have taken steps to ensure, as always, that those obligations are honored," said Seth Zucker, the spokesman.

The nine officers were suspended with pay and required to turn in their badges, cruisers and guns Tuesday after a weeks-long investigations prompted by officials at Grady Management Inc., a Silver Spring real estate company that employs several county officers as part-time security guards.

Seven of the officers were based in Silver Spring, one worked at headquarters in Rockville and one was stationed in Bethesda. Scores of officers in the department work as security guards part time to supplement their income.

Some defense lawyers have drawn parallels between the current investigation and the "Liars List," a group of eight officers that then-Montgomery County Police Chief Charles A. Moose described in 1999 during a speech to graduating police officer candidates.

Without identifying the officers, Moose, underscoring the importance of honesty, said he was outraged that eight officers who had been caught lying since 1994 "continue to carry a badge and gun and drive about the county arresting people, going to court and testifying."

Several defense lawyers tried to subpoena the list, but it never became public. The state's attorney's office, on a case-by-case basis, told defense lawyers whether any of the officers was on a witness list or had played an important role in building a case.

The suspensions do not prevent the state from calling the officers as witnesses. But in some cases, it could "cause both the police department and the prosecutor to be very unenthusiastic about relying on a particular witness," said Andrew Jezic, a defense lawyer and former prosecutor.

If some of the officers were to be charged and convicted, lawyers said, it could prompt a flurry of motions to reopen cases in which they played a key role.

Defense lawyers said the names are likely to become public -- or at least public knowledge -- in Rockville's relatively tight legal community in a matter of days because, unlike allegations of lying, the suspensions will be harder to conceal.

The effect of the investigation on active and old criminal cases is likely to be larger, lawyers said.

"This sounds like a premeditated criminal act," Jezic said. "The Liars List had to do with discipline for honesty in things like timecards."