Resign: 4 Howard County Executives to Sheriff James Fitzgerald

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Four Howard County executives called upon Sheriff James Fitzgerald to resign Thursday following an investigation into allegations of misconduct including retaliatory and hostile behavior.

“We condemn Sheriff Fitzgerald’s actions in the strongest possible terms, and, as four of the five living County Executives of Howard County, call on him to leave his position to restore the trust of the community," said a statement released by Howard County Executives Allan Kittleman (incumbent), Kenneth Ulman, James Robey and Edward Cochran.

A lieutenant in the sheriff's office reportedly filed a complaint with the Howard County Office of Human Rights after he was subjected to a hostile, retaliatory work environment once Fitzgerald found out he did not support his campaign and did not agree with discrimination in the workplace, according to the report obtained by WBAL TV detailing the human rights office's findings.

The Howard County Office of Human Rights determined that Fitzgerald created an environment that was hostile to more than the lieutenant, who filed the complaint after leaving his job in 2015 and who had PTSD as a result of the abuse, the report said. The findings indicated the sheriff was "objectively offensive" and "abusive" to many people, including those who are "female, black, gay, Asian or Jewish," the report stated.

"The sheriff described himself as just 'a loud New Yorker,'" Fitzgerald reportedly said in response to the allegations.

The county executives said the findings were "deeply disturbing" and cause for Fitzgerald to resign from his post.

“The conclusions of the report are deeply disturbing, and those words and thoughts are deplorable and have no place in our society, especially when they come from an elected law enforcement official," the county executives said in their Sept. 22 statement.

“Howard County is considered one of the best places in the nation to live in no small part because of our shared values of inclusion and respect for neighbors of all backgrounds and beliefs," officials said in their statement, in a nod to Columbia's designation this week as Money magazine's "Best Place to Live" in 2016. Money editors said they selected Columbia in part because of its diversity.

Said the county executives: “The words and actions of Howard County Sheriff James Fitzgerald, revealed and substantiated in the findings of the Howard County Office of Human Rights, run counter to these values, and to our personal beliefs."

Photo by Flugkerl2 via Wikimedia Commons, under the Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.