The Eastern Shore town of Ridgely, Maryland, suspended its entire police department with pay this month pending an investigation by state prosecutors.
On Wednesday, town officials approved a deal wherein the Caroline County Sheriff’s Department will provide law enforcement for Ridgely in the interim.
“We cover the town when their police is off the clock. We provide them with backup. We’re familiar with the citizens,” Caroline County Sheriff Donnie Baker told The Star Democrat.
The town commissioners didn’t say what the Ridgely Police Department was being investigated for.
Including its chief, the department employed at least six people before the suspension, according to the RPD website. The department hasn’t posted anything publicly regarding the suspension or the investigation by the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor.
On Friday, the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that the suspension was temporary and that its agreement with Ridgely officials, which begins April 1, includes “an additional 35 hours per week above and beyond normal patrol hours,” along with deputy availability for emergencies.
For now, Ridgely residents are left wondering what exactly is going on.
“It doesn’t add up. Everybody is skeptical about what happened. We just want to know how and why,” Gennie Woo, whose family has owned a general store in the rural town for more than 40 years, told The Associated Press.