Recent Ills Turn Up Heat On Police in Pr. George's

At the beginning of this year, the Prince George's County Police Department seemed to have overcome some high-profile problems. After hitting a record peak in 2005, the number of homicides in the county had decreased substantially. Other violent crimes were also down, for the most part. And in February, a federal judge lifted the Justice Department's two-year oversight of the once-troubled police canine unit.

But in the first six months of this year, a jump in homicides in the county and a series of unrelated fatalities involving Prince George's officers have again drawn scrutiny to the 1,400-officer department. The tally of troubles is striking:

· Since Jan. 1, the county has had 69 homicides, compared with 55 at the same time last year -- a 25 percent increase.

· On Jan. 24, a veteran police officer who was at the time a top county homeland security official shot two deliverymen in his Accokeek home. One later died of his wounds. The incident is the subject of a grand jury investigation.

· On May 26, a handcuffed man died after receiving Taser shocks from two officers, one from Prince George's and one from Fairmount Heights. The cause of death is pending a state toxicology report.

· On May 30, two men were killed and 15 people were injured in a multivehicle accident on the Capital Beltway that began with what law enforcement sources say was an unauthorized high-speed pursuit by a Prince George's police officer. Sources say the cruiser's speed reached more than 120 mph.

Police spokeswoman Sharon Taylor said last week that detectives are working to solve homicides and that all of the incidents involving officers remain under investigation, but she declined to comment further. A request for an interview with Prince George's Police Chief Melvin C. High was denied.

Percy Alston, head of the Prince George's police union, called the increase in homicides "concerning." But he dismissed any suggestion that the department had been bruised by the recent series of unrelated internal affairs inquiries into several officers' actions.