The Administrative Charging Committee consists of 5 members - the chair of the Police Accountability Board (or their PAB designee), two civilian members selected by the PAB, and two civilian members selected by the chief executive officer of the county.
The Charging Committee will use the Model Uniform State Disciplinary Matrix as responsive measures to determine whether a police officer’s sustained violation of an agency’s policy. This Matrix was developed for all jurisdictions throughout the State of Maryland as part of the legislation that developed the Police Accountability Board structure.
The Disciplinary Matrix includes a breakdown of six different categories of violations, labeled A through F, with A as the lowest level of discipline and F as the highest.
- Each category is defined, along with example violations.
- Three penalty levels are included in each category which are based on the number of similar violations in a specified period of time.
- A disciplinary range is used for assessing the recommended discipline.
- Based on aggravating and mitigating factors, the disciplinary range can increase or decrease upon review of the totality of the circumstances surrounding the sustained violation.
The Disciplinary Matrix will be maintained and published by the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission on its public website here.
The ACC has a statutory requirement to maintain confidentiality of the proceedings, so deliberations are conducted in closed meetings, pursuant to General Provisions Article 3-305(b)1 and 3-305(b)13.