Former Prince George's Sheriff: I Trust Governor Hogan To Keep Prince George’s County Safe

As someone who spent five consecutive terms serving as Prince George’s County Sheriff, it breaks my heart to witness the challenges our community is now enduring. Prince George's was once a place where families thrived, where children played safely in their neighborhoods, and where neighbors looked out for one another. But today, that sense of security is slipping away, and the surge in violence is a painful reminder of the leadership failures that have brought us to this point.

Now more than ever, we need a leader we can trust to fight to keep our communities safe. That is why I am proud to support Governor Hogan for the United States Senate. As our Governor, whether it was leading through riots or COVID, he never put politics before public safety.

Governor Hogan is a strong supporter of law enforcement, using the bully pulpit to push back against extreme anti-cop rhetoric that we saw in recent years. He was a national leader on the urgent need to increase funding for the men and women in blue, launching a Re-Fund the Police initiative to increase state aid to local police by 50%.

He led with common sense and delivered despite facing a legislature dominated by the other party, signing into law red flag measures to get guns away from people, passing greater judicial transparency on sentences handed down, enacting the Second Chance Act to help people who had paid their debts successfully re-enter society, and working with them U.S. Attorney for Maryland to surge prosecutors to get criminals off the streets. Despite continued resistance, he fought relentlessly to pass tougher laws to hold accountable violent criminals. Now, Governor Hogan has released a 10-point crime plan to take many of these successful initiatives to the federal level.

This is a stark contrast to his opponent. In her political advertisement, Alsobrooks highlights a ‘50% reduction’ in violent crime. But this actually occurred when Rushern Baker was County Executive. Under her leadership, violent crime has increased by 30%, and homicides have nearly doubled—even as shootings have decreased across the state.

It’s not just the numbers that are alarming, though they are shocking enough—homicides have nearly doubled, carjackings have gone up well over 500%. This summer, a man was killed and a child injured in a broad daylight shooting at a little league football game. A 6-year-old boy was shot and killed during a Fourth of July party. Earlier this year, a 2-year-old boy was killed and his mother wounded in a shootout in Langley Park. Each life lost is a life cut tragically short, a family devastated, and a community left to pick up the pieces.

We are witnessing a community under siege. The rise in violent crime is not just a statistic—it’s a tragedy tearing families apart, shattering dreams, and leaving a trail of heartbreak in its wake.

Prince George’s County is at a breaking point. The pain of seeing our community suffer is compounded by the knowledge that it didn’t have to be this way. We needed a balanced approach—reform where necessary, but not at the expense of our safety. We needed leadership that would stand with our law enforcement, not leave them to face this crisis alone.

The people of Maryland have trusted Governor Hogan to handle problems statewide for two consecutive terms as governor. He is still the leader I trust to protect our community, our families, and our way of life.