The Prince George’s County state's attorney has dropped criminal charges filed against 13 Prince George's County police officers last year for an alleged double-dipping scheme.
New witness statements, more-detailed records and witness impeachment materials led the state's attorney's office to drop the charges, the office said in a release Monday.
"We do not blindly prosecute cases once an indictment has been filed, rather we continuously evaluate the evidence to ensure that our office is operating with the highest integrity. When new evidence comes to our attention, we have a duty to unflinchingly investigate and reevaluate," the state's attorney's office said in part.
The state's attorney's office said the Prince George's County Police Department will now handle its investigation of the officers internally.
“Our office, along with the Prince George’s County Police Department, works tirelessly to ensure the highest level of prosecution in all our cases. Sometimes that means that the right action – the just action – is to not prosecute," the state's attorney's office said. "Here, these officers will be held accountable for their actions, and that will be handled internally through the police accountability process. Our office will continue to assist the Department in any way that they need.”
At the time of the August 2022 grand jury indictment, the officers worked part-time for a security company overseen by former police lieutenant, Edward Scott Finn, who faces federal charges in a separate case. News4 was first to report the ongoing investigation and officers’ suspensions.
Disciplinary action and investigations began shortly after Finn's arrest.
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Finn employed officers he supervised for part-time employment for him while they were supposed to be on duty working for the department, authorities said. That allegedly allowed them to illegally earn two salaries.
“What you have is a failure in the system, and inadequate policies in place — whether they are in inadequate or lacking — contributed to the circumstances around this whole incident,” Prince George's County Police Chief Malik Aziz said when charges against the officers were announced last year.
Finn faces federal tax evasion charges for allegedly not reporting some $1.3 million in income from his business in a separate but related case.
Investigators were led to Finn shortly after an investigation into former county police corporal Darryl Wormuth. Wormuth was charged with criminal assault after allegedly grabbing a handcuffed 17-year-old boy by the throat.
According to sources with direct knowledge of the investigation, Wormuth’s charges and tips from other officers revealed the alleged scheme.
The police chief said last year that the department made changes to secondary employment because of what happened, and there are now audits of officers to say they are working a second shift.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
