PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — A group of Prince George's County Police officers, along with one retired officer, are facing charges after a double-dipping theft scheme that someone within the department exposed, the chief announced Thursday.
The officers ranged from first class to corporal, along with one recently retired corporal. In total, all 14 men are facing charges of misconduct in office with felony and misdemeanor theft charges.
The investigation uncovered evidence that at some point between Jan. 17, 2019, and March 27, 2021, all of the county police officers involved allegedly concealed overlapping secondary employment shifts from the police department. The officers are accused of working in positions with a private security company while also on-duty with the police department.
The company provided security at more than 20 apartment complexes in the county, according to Police Chief Malik Aziz. He added that the officers are also accused of providing false information to the apartment complexes to justify the continued hiring of the security company.
Thirteen of the officers are charged with theft between $1,500 to $25,000, and one of the defendants is charged with theft between $100 to $1,500 for stealing from Prince George’s County.
At a Thursday press conference detailing the incident, Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy discussed the negative light the officers' behavior cast on the department and profession.
"Public safety cannot operate without integrity," Braveboy said. "The badge has to mean something. What it means here in Prince George's County is that our officers are not above the law, that the state's attorneys office will continue to prioritize the safety of our community and the integrity of our cases while conducting thorough investigations and pursuing just and fair convictions."
If convicted, the officers are potentially facing up to five years in prison for the felony theft charges. There is no maximum sentence for misconduct in office.
The department released the names and ranks of all of the accused officers:
- Corporal Nick Agapov, 39
- Corporal Anthony Brooke, 30
- Corporal Kyle Cook, 32
- Corporal Matthew Cotillo, 31
- Corporal Brandon Farley, 34
- Corporal Chris Hall, 45
- Corporal Jonathan Haskett, 29
- Corporal Joshua Hitchens, 32
- Retired Corporal James Lubonski, 33
- Private First Class John Mcintosh, 33
- Corporal Matthew Obordo, 33
- Corporal Michael O’Connell, 33
- Private First Class Christopher Oliver, 32
- Corporal Travis Popielarcheck, 30
"If the allegations are proven true during the judicial process, their actions not only tarnish the badge we all wear proudly but also erode the community's trust," Chief Aziz said.
The department also announced measures taken to prevent a similar circumstance from occurring in the future.
Starting in July of 2021, the department began implementing changes to their secondary employment policy to include employees being prohibited from engaging in businesses providing security guards, special police officers or any other law enforcement-related services to commercial establishments or any other individuals within the county. The department has also purchased software to manage secondary employment jobs, which officers must use to clock in and out.
In addition, all site inspections are being conducted by the Internal Affairs Division. The agency now uses a random selection process when selecting site coordinators now, in order to ensure a variety of coordinators, which also limits the number of locations one officer can coordinate.
"We remain on a roll to restore our noble and trusted police brand that offers a professional police service to our community," Aziz said. "We have implemented a philosophy of trust, fairness and equity that our residents demand and deserve."