14 Officers Indicted On Misconduct In Office Charges: Prince George's Police

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — A Prince George’s County grand jury indicted 13 current Prince George’s County Police officers and one recently retired officer on misconduct in office charges Thursday, as well as on felony and misdemeanor theft crimes, authorities said.

The officers have been accused of working for 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, the police department said in a news release.

Court documents said the indicted officers gave false information to the apartment complexes to justify the continued hiring of the security company. The misconduct in office is alleged to have taken place between January 2019 and March 2021, according to the Prince George's County Police Department.

In February 2021, the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division received an internal complaint regarding potential wrongdoing by several of the accused officers. An investigation into the allegations identified other officers who could potentially be involved.

The police powers of the involved officers were suspended beginning in April 2021. All of the indicted officers were assigned to the Special Assignment Teams of Landover III and Westphalia VIII Patrol Divisions, which were proactive saturation teams under the Bureau of Patrol, the department said.

“This is truly a disheartening day for the men and women who represent the very best of the Prince George’s County Police Department," Prince George's County Police Chief Malik Aziz said in a statement. "All people, including officers, retain the right of due process under the law, yet the allegations on this large group of officers are deeply troubling. 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.

"We remain on a road to restore our noble and trusted police brand that offers a professional police service to our community. We have implemented a philosophy of trust, fairness and equity that our residents demand and deserve,” Aziz said. "Our officers are striving to be the epitome of 21st century policing in this modern police era of positive reformation.”

This case stemmed from a separate, but related, case involving a former county police officer who was indicted by a federal grand jury and pleaded guilty earlier this year. That investigation uncovered evidence that at some point between Jan. 17, 2019, and March 27, 2021, 14 county police officers concealed overlapping secondary employment shifts from the police department.

Seven of the officers are charged with an additional count of misconduct in office for submitting falsified information to the secondary employer.

Additionally, 13 of the officers are charged with theft scheme of at least $1,500 to under $25,000, and one of the defendants is charged with theft scheme of at least $100 to under $1,500 for stealing from Prince George’s County. If convicted, these officers face up to five years in prison for the felony theft charges. There is no maximum sentence for misconduct in office.

The indictments were announced by Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy, who was joined by Chief Aziz and Barry Stanton, deputy chief administrative officer, Public Safety and Homeland Security for Prince George’s County.

“This is an unprecedented case in which 14 officers have been indicted in a theft and misconduct scheme. In the face of the recent surge in crime that we have seen in the last several weeks, it is very difficult to have to bring a case like this to the public. However, we cannot, and will not, overlook these crimes,” Braveboy said. “Police officers are sworn to protect and serve the public, and they take an oath to uphold the law. These indictments demonstrate our commitment to pursuing justice regardless of a suspect’s race, gender, religion or occupation.”

Starting in July of 2021, the Prince George’s County Police Department began implementing changes to the department’s secondary employment policy to include:

• Employees are prohibited from engaging in the business of providing security guards, special police officers or any other law enforcement-related services to commercial establishments or other individuals within Prince George’s County.
• The department purchased a software program to manage secondary employment jobs. Officers must clock in and out using this program.
• Site inspections are being conducted by the Internal Affairs Division’s Discovery & Compliance Unit.
• When new businesses look for secondary employment, an email announcing the opportunity is sent out to all officers through county email.
• The agency started a randomization process when selecting site coordinators for new jobs to ensure a variety of coordinators, which also limits the number of locations that one officer can coordinate.

The indicted officers are:

• Corporal Nick Agapov, joined agency in 2011
• Corporal Jonathan Haskett, joined agency in 2015
• Corporal Mathew Obordo, joined agency in 2013
• Corporal Matthew Cotillo, joined agency in 2011
• Corporal Joshua Hitchens, joined agency in 2012
• Corporal Chris Hall, joined agency in 2011
• Corporal Michael O’Connell, joined agency in 2011
• Corporal Kyle Cook, joined agency in 2013
• Corporal Travis Popieilarcheck, joined agency in 2012
• Corporal Anthony Brooke, joined agency in 2015
• Corporal Brandon Farley, joined agency in 2012
• POFC Christopher Oliver, joined agency in 2016
• POFC John Mcintosh, joined agency in 2016
• Retired Corporal James Lubonski, joined agency in 2012