Maryland lawmakers and union leaders are now calling for an independent investigation into the death last May of parole agent Davis Martinez in the line of duty.
During an oversight hearing Thursday, lawmakers said the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services’ internal investigation into Martinez’s death seemed more concerned with whether the agent made a mistake than looking for systemic problems that may have contributed to his death.
“At the conclusion of my investigation, I found no evidence Agent Davis Martinez violated any [Division of Parole and Probation] policies or General Orders with regard to him executing a home visit on Emanuel Sewell on May 31, 2024,” the investigation report concludes. “Without question, the death of Agent Martinez was inherently tragic, but other than knowing the facts or information that may have been provided by the Offender Sewell within the criminal investigation, I found no definitive answer regarding how the death of Agent Martinez could have been prevented.”
Del. Jared Solomon, a Democrat from Montgomery County, said the report also conflicts with one from the Maryland branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union that represents most state government employees.
“If I see something that is completely different in two versions, why would we not want a third-party investigator that has no connection to either the union or to the agency to come in and give us a soup-to-nuts, gold-standard review of all of our actions to make sure, if you were all in the clear, great, that'll come out; if you know the agents did something wrong, that'll come out; if we need to fix things, that will come out,” Solomon said.
DPSCS Secretary Carolyn Scruggs said she “escalated” that decision to the governor’s office.
Union officials said agency leaders have refused to examine the events surrounding Martinez’s death to determine what systemic issues might have contributed.
“There was a meeting which they called a ‘critical debrief,’ but the meeting was not to discuss what happened,” said Rayneika Robinson, a probation officer and the president of the AFSCME local that represents DPSCS workers. “I asked during that meeting if we could discuss what went wrong, because it's hard to develop policies if I don't understand exactly where the lapse was, and I was told that our director said she wanted to — her goal was to focus on the future.”
‘A glaring public safety issue’
The hearing also examined other issues at the agency, such as a recent decision, first reported by WYPR, to eliminate the night shift at the unit that monitors people on home detention.
Solomon called cutting the night shift “a glaring public safety issue.”
DPSCS Deputy Secretary of Administration Joe Sedtal said he first learned of the decision from a union representative two hours before the hearing and promptly rescinded the order to eliminate the night shift.
“It was a miscommunication on our behalf,” Sedtal said.
Solomon criticized the agency leaders for not knowing about the change previously.
“A policy like this that has wide-ranging implications on public safety — not even internally in the agency, but potentially on the public citizens that we represent — when it was about to go into effect and you didn't, your team didn't know about it — or excuse me, did go into effect, and you didn’t know about it until labor —”
Scruggs interrupted Solomon to say she would hold the appropriate director accountable.
Scruggs said she did not believe the night shift elimination ever went into effect. However, Robinson said later that it took effect Wednesday, the day before the hearing.
Other issues raised during the hearing include the fact that the agency has not fully resumed home visits since Martinez’s death and the agency’s lack of a use-of-force policy, which the union has been seeking for at least a year.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Luke Clippinger said he plans to hold another hearing with DPSCS next month.
