BEL AIR, Md. — A two-page letter directed months ago to the Harford County attorney demanded a seven-figure payout.
“This letter was written over a year ago and demanded $1 million or face the threat of a lawsuit,” said Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler as he took to social media to voice his disappointment with the county council for voting to meet that demand in a case, which members revealed involved the sheriff’s office and its personnel.
“I think that this case is worse than we even saw in the Freddie Gray settlement,” the sheriff told us today, “In that case, there were police officers charged. There was a lawsuit filed. Even if they were charged incorrectly, there was a lawsuit actually filed. None of that happened here.”
Gahler says not one, but two elected state’s attorneys have already said there was no wrongdoing by deputies in this case.
An obvious case, which falls into that category is the police-involved fatal shooting of John Fauver in the Forest Hill Shopping Center two years ago.
Police responding to a report of a suicidal person with access to a gun fired on Fauver after he pulled a cane out of his vehicle and pointed it at them.
Later, an attorney for the family would question why the police hadn’t used a non-lethal means to subdue him.
The sheriff’s office will neither confirm nor deny that case drew the threat of a lawsuit.
The County Executive’s Office claims Gahler's account is filled with errors, while defending the pending agreement, saying it "protects county taxpayers and first responders."
But Gahler says it sets a dangerous precedent.
“I can’t believe the county won’t be inundated—-somebody stubs their toe on the front steps here. That’s got to be worth $100,000,” said Gahler, “To me, it’s just not an efficient use… it appears no effort was done by the county attorney, and again, as the client, I deserve to at least be communicated with. This case involved our men and women, and again, the decision was made totally outside of any input from the sheriff.”
