Today, Governor O’Malley spoke to reporters for the first time about the federal indictment of 12 inmates and 13 prison guards at the Baltimore City Detention Center. Last week, the FBI announced the findings of an investigation that alleges that members of the Black Guerilla Family smuggled contraband, including drugs and cell-phones, into the jail with the help of guards.
Here’s Michael Dresser in the Baltimore Sun:
O'Malley called Maynard "one of the best public safety secretaries in the entire nation" and gave him much of the credit for setting the investigation in motion by alerting federal authorities 18 months ago.
John Wagner of the Washington Post:
O’Malley said state officials “didn’t have any sort of stopwatch” on the length of what was a complicated investigation. It was “not like getting a cheeseburger at the McDonald’s drive-thru window,” the governor said.
Rob Lang of WBAL and the Associated Press write that O’Malley was asked about the officers’ jobs:
Asked why those officers haven't been fired, O'Malley said, "we are following the letter of the law with respect to these corrections officers." The law is the Corrections Officers Bill of Rights, which is designed to protect officers from inmate accusations of brutality that may ultimately prove false. The governor says there may be a need to "tweak" that law as a result of this case.