Some Guards At Md. Jail Have Arrest Records

Designed for about 1,330 prisoners, the jail currently holds an estimated 1,500. Most of the inmates are male and awaiting trial or have received sentences generally less than two years. The jail employs an estimated 450 security personnel, according to a state audit, and officers, who are male and female, go through a county training program.

In addition to the nine officers identified by The Post who were kept on the force, other guards have faced criminal charges, records show. They were suspended, and two are in jail.

Renardo Humphrey was jailed this week after being convicted in Charles County of armed robbery, his attorney said. Police said Humphrey and four others held up two teenagers with a BB gun that resembled a handgun in January. Humphrey was accused of driving the car that carried the suspects. After his arrest, the jail suspended him without pay.

Last year, officer Kenneth Paul St. Clair, who joined the force in 2004 at age 18, was convicted of second-degree child abuse involving an 11-month-old boy. According to police, the infant had multiple rib fractures, a depressed skull fracture, internal bleeding, bruises on his chest, face and forehead and a bite mark on his shoulder. St. Clair is now in jail.

A third officer, on the force since 2002, was charged in May with sexually assaulting his wife. Prosecutors dropped the charges this week after his wife would no longer cooperate; the officer's attorney said he had been placed on administrative leave.

State officials would not comment on the jail's personnel policies, saying management is handled locally.

The Maryland Correctional Training Commission, an arm of the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, prohibits jails from using officers who have had felony or serious misdemeanor convictions.

But regulations do not spell out how jails should discipline officers who are arrested, served with domestic violence protective orders or convicted of less serious offenses.

"It is a responsibility of the local agencies," said the commission's executive assistant director, Ray Franklin. "They have the first responsibility of protecting the public safety of their communities."

Officials at other jails in the Washington area say they conduct background checks when promoting corrections officers and require that officers self-report any arrests, which can lead to dismissal.

In Montgomery County, officials said they screen officers yearly for criminal and traffic offenses and send any new cases to the county for review.

"There's no substitute for an aggressive . . . background review process," said Arthur Wallenstein, director of the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation. "It takes time. It's cumbersome. But we don't cut corners."