Harford Officer Named National Deputy Of The Year

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — An officer from the Harford County Sheriff's Office has been named Deputy of the Year by the National Sheriff's Association. Corporal David McDougall received the honor, the sheriff's office announced Monday, for exposing corruption in the Baltimore Police Department that led to federal charges against members of the now-defunct Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF).

McDougall was investigating an overdose death in Harford County when he uncovered the corruption in the Baltimore Police Department, according to a statement from the Harford County Sheriff's Office.

He is a member of the Harford County Narcotics Task Force, which is a multi-jurisdictional effort to combat the distribution of drugs in the region.

"It was Corporal McDougall’s drug investigation that initially uncovered the corruption within the GTTF and also brought down a drug dealer responsible for countless overdoses and at least one death in Harford County," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "Way to go, Corporal McDougall! You have made us very proud!"

• Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force Leader Sentenced To Federal Prison
• 7 Baltimore Police Officers Indicted In Racketeering Scheme
• Indicted Baltimore Police Officers Charged With 13 More Robberies
• Harford Sheriff Gives Heroin Overdose Data, Asks for Help

A protocol has been in place for Harford deputies, state troopers and municipal police since 2015 that has assisted in disrupting drug dealing operations.

At the request of Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler, a narcotics investigator has responded to each overdose call to gather intelligence about how drugs are getting into Harford County, who is selling them and where users are purchasing them. The effort is part of several measures to address addiction in Harford County.

The overdose death of Jordan Roche of Bel Air was one of the cases Harford County deputies were working on when they felt their efforts were being "thwarted," Captain Lee Dunbar, commander of the Harford County Narcotics Task Force, told The Baltimore Sun.

Roche, 21, was a musician who died in September 2015. His heroin dealer was one of two whose convictions led investigators to the Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force as the source of inside protection for a drug dealing operation near The Alameda that was one of the largest suppliers of heroin to Harford County, according to The Baltimore Sun.

The Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force was disbanded in 2017 after multiple members were indicted on federal racketeering charges.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Photo courtesy of the Harford County Sheriff's Office.