RIDGELY, MD - Caroline County Sheriff's deputies have been patrolling the town since the Ridgely Police department was suspended weeks ago, and now, the county and town have signed another agreement.
The Caroline County Commissioners, the County Sheriff's Office, and the Town of Ridgely have signed an agreement to their memorandum of understanding (MOU), which is set to last for a year. The agreement will provide Ridgely with full-time officers.
Residents have reported that the Sheriff's Office has served and protected them well during this period.
"I've seen them do both street officer stuff, I've seen them do traffic stop stuff like that," said community member Dewy Walls.
Starting in July, three deputies from the Sheriff's Office will be full-time. "We're going to hire above our current staffing levels to hire three more deputies," said Sheriff Donald Baker. These deputies are expected to cover a combined 120 hours a week, totaling 480 hours a month.
The Caroline County Sheriff's Office will be compensated accordingly. "The town will reimburse the county four quarters a year for just under $475,000 a year," said Donald Baker.
The memorandum of understanding includes discussions about the use, custody, sale, and/or ownership of the Ridgely Police Department's vehicles, radios, body-worn cameras, and guns.
However, there remains curiosity about what motivated the suspension of the town's police department in the first place.
"I think everybody in town wants answers. I think it kind of stinks we can't get some sort of answer on why or why not everything is going on right now," said Walls.
Caroline County Commissioner, Frank Bartz added, "The reason we offered into this is because of the current situation of the Ridgely Police Department is to cover their town and make sure the citizens are safe and have a police presence during the week."
The saga continues for this small town in Caroline County.
WBOC reached out to the Maryland State Prosecutor's Office, but again they said no comment.
The agreement is set to go into effect on July 1st and will run through July 2025.
