Anthony Brooke
Service Record
Prince George's County Maryland Police Department
| Rank | Corporal |
| Dates of Service | Hired in 2015 |
| Salary | $95,536 (2021)[1] |
| Last Known Status | Suspended[2] |
Incident Reports
2019-2021 Overtime Misconduct
Response Timeline
In April 2021, Brooke and the other officers were stripped of their police powers.[3]
On August 25, 2022, Brooke and the other officers were indicted for misconduct in office and participation in a theft scheme. Some of the thefts rose to the level of felonies. If convicted, the officers face up to five years in prison for the felony theft charges. There is no maximum sentence for misconduct in office.[4]
In January 2023, the Prince George's County State's Attorney's Public Integrity Unit dropped the criminal charges, saying that they had found additional evidence "from multiple sources".[5]
2020 Text Messages
In October 2020, as part of a different investigation, the department learned that Brooke had sent another officers "racist and demeaning messages" about residents of their patrol area and other officers.[6]
The text messages contained comments like, "black people in a white man job", how "these savages get shot in the head and still won't die", stating "I LOVE IT" about three homicides the prior night, etc.[6]
Response Timeline
The department opened an investigation into the messages.[6]
Brooke was charged and the department recommended that he be fired.[6]
Before a disciplinary hearing was held, Brooke filed a motion to stop the hearing as the texts were protected by the First Amendment and state law.[6]
A circuit court ruled that a police officer sending racist texts "involved a matter of public concern", making the texts protected speech under rules in place at the time. The county appealed.[6]
On August 18, 2023, the state Appellate Court overturned the circuit court's decision, claiming that the circuit court had misapplied the concept of "public concern", which should have been applied "subject matter of the speech", not the "incident" of the messages themselves. As such, the Appellate Court sent the case back to the circuit court.[6]
2021 Officer Misconduct
In February 2021, Brooke stopped a driver and assaulted him during the arrest.[7]
The incident was captured on officers' body-worn cameras.[7]
Response Timeline
The department referred the case to the Office of the State's Attorney for Prince George's County.[7]
On February 23, 2023, Brooke was indicted by a grand jury on a misdemeanor charge of misconduct in office.[7]
LEO Ratings
References
- ↑ Anthony Brooke J, Police Corporal-L, Prince George's County, govSalaries
- ↑ Amanda Gomez, Prince George’s County Police Officer Indicted Over Alleged Traffic Stop Assault, dcist, 2023-02-27
- ↑ Camilo Morgan, 14 Prince George officers charged, accused of double-dipping, US Today News, 2022-08-25
- ↑ 14 Prince George's County police officers indicted for misconduct in office, FOX 5, 2022-08-25
- ↑ Jordan Pascale, Charges Reportedly Dropped Against 14 Prince George’s County Officers Accused Of Double Dipping, dcist, 2023-01-24
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Opinion, Appellate Court of Maryland, 2023-08-18
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Suspended PGPD Officer Indicted for Misconduct in Office, Prince George's County Police Department, 2023-02-23
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