ABC7 News reporter Brad Bell tweeted a few moments ago that the station received a copy of an email sent to rank and file officers in the Anne Arundel County Police Department that Chief Timothy Altomare will be resigning his position and retiring effective August 1, 2020.
[bctt tweet=”“I need to be able to speak my truth about who you are and who you are NOT”” username=”ChiefTAltomare”]
This news comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed against the County and the police department for unlawful arrest and use of excessive force. Earlier this morning, County Executive Pittman briefed the media on this case and said that he would be implementing policy changes in the department within the next 24 hours and that the investigation into the case by the police department would be transparent and available to the public.
#New in an email to officers obtained by @ABC7News @AACOPD Chief Timothy Altomare announces retirement Aug 1. He says “I need to be able to speak my truth about who you are and who you are NOT” A county spokesman declined to confirm.
— Brad Bell (@Brad7News) July 22, 2020
We have reached out to the County Executive for a comment :
I am sad to announce that our Police Chief, Tim Altomare, is retiring. Chief Altomare has been an outstanding police chief. He took a divided and damaged department in 2014 and implemented more of the 21st Century Policing Task Force reforms than any Maryland department that I know of.
He doubled our number of African American sworn officers, implemented Fair and Impartial Policing training for all officers, and made our Crisis Intervention Teams the best in the world. He built strong relationships in every community, and with his own officers. I know that he deserves a rest about now, but I expect that we’ll hear more from him in the future.
Personally, I will miss Tim Altomare, but I intend to call him often, as we continue his work building the best police department in Maryland.
This story will be updated.
