Baltimore County police chief says $2 parking dispute put him on Brady List

Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough said a $2 parking dispute was the reason he has been under fire in the past few weeks after a report revealed he was named on the infamous Brady List.

The Brady List is a list kept by prosecutors and local law enforcement to track police officers who should be flagged when testifying.

McCullough said his name landed on the Brady List because of a decades-old parking dispute. 

Baltimore County police chief responds to Brady List report

McCullough sat down with WJZ Anchor Rick Ritter to talk about why he's on the list and much more.

Rick Ritter: In your words, tell me what the Brady List is and explain it to our viewers.

Chief McCullough: My understanding is that the Brady List is for persons who might have integrity or credibility issues and who have been suspended for serious allegations.

Ritter: Due to recent reports, it's now come to light that your name is on that list. Why is that?

Chief McCullough: "I can tell you that I've been around my agency for 40 years, and up until that report came out, I never knew I was on that list. When I first found out, I was pretty confused, pretty upset, and it took me a while to process what was going on. I really had to think about it, and the only thing I could think about was almost 40 years ago, when I was 19 years old, I was involved in an incident as a cadet. I was a civilian employee assigned as a cadet. I was not a police officer yet."

Explanation for the parking dispute

McCullough is referring to 1986 when he said he let another cadet borrow his parking validation ticket for the garage to get a reduced rate. He said his colleague told him he lost his own ticket, but McCullough said he did not realize the cadet was trying to get around parking costs.

Ritter: How much were those tickets?

Chief McCullough: About $2, back then. There was no criminal intent or any thought that it could be a crime. Eventually, we were charged administratively for theft and, of course, for any investigation in the police department, which is a type of criminal act, goes to the state's attorney first. The assistant state's attorney at that time spoke with the investigator, and the comments from that state's attorney are here.

McCullough was suspended for 3 days

McCullough was one of two Black cadets at that time and was later suspended without pay for three days.

The chief shared a copy of the criminal misconduct review from then, in which Assistant State's Attorney Sue Schenning declined to charge him for the monetary losses totaling less than $3.

Chief McCullough: "It perplexes me that I've been on this list for 40 years and I didn't even know it. I'm not hiding from this. I've always openly discussed any mistakes I made in my life or my career."

Why didn't the chief address the dispute?

Ritter: Chief, if this incident is so minor, why not come out and address it as soon as you were made aware you were on the list? Why not put out a statement?

Chief McCullough: I hadn't seen the list. I needed to look at the list and find out all the details first, and why I was on it. To be completely honest, it takes me back to 1985 when times were different, and not in a good way. I was treated in ways that made me physically sick. This incident has brought back this pit in my stomach that I hadn't felt in a long time. My entire police record from the time I was an officer until now, there's nothing there. There might be a traffic accident I had when I was working at midnight, going to a burglary in progress in a snowstorm. I slid off the road, hit a guardrail, and didn't even damage the car. That's the only thing you might find in there."

Why not fight to get off the Brady List?

Chief McCullough: When you look at that list, there are dead people on there, there are some people on there that shouldn't even be on that list. It's something we need to look into and reform. I take pride in what I've done the last 40 years, and I take pride in the citizens I serve. I love my profession, and if I had to do it all over again with everything I've gone through, I would still do it all over again, and I wouldn't change a thing. I would go through all of the obstacles and climb through all of the things I had to do again. The men and women in the Baltimore County organization, their perception of me is most important. I am nothing without them, and I can't lead them unless I am living right and doing right."

McCullough said he hopes the Police Accountability Board, State's Attorney's Office and the Internal Affairs Section get together to work and examine these lists locally and across the state.  

WJZ reached out to the state's attorney's office for comment on the matter, but has not yet heard back.