'No Institution Is Immune': Baltimore County Police Chief on Addiction

After a Baltimore County police officer was charged in an attempt to rob a drug dealer, Baltimore County Police Chief Jim Johnson said he was “troubled” and ”saddened” by the incident, which is believed to have stemmed from addiction to prescription painkillers.

Johnson said he was “deeply troubled by this officer’s actions” in a prepared statement.

Baltimore County police officer Joseph Stanley Harden, 31, who lives in Towson and works in the Parkville precinct, was charged Thursday with attempted burglary, attempted robbery, drug possession and property destruction after police said he tried to break into a drug dealer’s place in Dundalk to obtain Oxycodone.

When he was arrested at his home on York Road Thursday morning, Harden admitted to his role in the incident and said he was addicted to Oxycodone, according to police.

“This department does not tolerate criminal conduct among its members, and this officer will face due process for what he has done,” Johnson said Friday.

“Yet we cannot help but be saddened by another troubling case of prescription medication abuse,” he continued. “This problem is pervasive in our society, and unfortunately no institution is immune to it. We hope that this officer and everyone struggling with addiction seeks and receives treatment.”

Harden has a preliminary hearing in Baltimore County District Court on Aug. 29, and police said he was suspended without pay after the charges were filed. He has been a member of the Baltimore County Police Department for a decade.

Related: Baltimore County Police Officer Charged in Attempt to Rob Drug Dealer