Gaithersburg Police Department | |
---|---|
Common name | Gaithersburg P.D. |
Abbreviation | GPD |
Motto | Ministerium, integritas, observantia (In Latin: "Service, integrity, respect.") |
Agency overview | |
Formed | April 1, 1963 |
Annual budget | $9,200,000 (as of 2014) |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Legal jurisdiction | Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S. |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | 14 Fulks Corner Ave, Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S. [1] |
Sworn officers | 57 (as of December 2016) [2] |
Unsworn civilian employees | 9 (as of December 2016) |
Agency executive |
|
Facilities | |
Cars | Ford Police Interceptor Sedan, Ford Police Interceptor Utility, Dodge Charger |
Website | |
https://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/government/departments/gaithersburg-police-department |
The Gaithersburg Police Department (GPD) is the municipal police force of Gaithersburg, Maryland. [3] [4]
The Gaithersburg Police Department was founded on April 1, 1963, [6] when a resolution creating it was signed into law by the mayor of the city at the time, Merton F. Duvall.
The town budget for fiscal year 1964 included "police protection" salaries for the solitary officer amounting to $4,000 (equivalent to $39296 today), and equipment purchases of $500 (equivalent to $4912 today).
It was under the administration of Chief DeVries that the Gaithersburg city police began to operate under its current system of dispatch through the Montgomery County Police Department. As a former Montgomery County Police lieutenant, DeVries was in a position to work with the County Police in a way that had previously not been possible.
The Gaithersburg Police Department grew from an authorized strength of three sworn officers and one civilian clerk in the early 1970s, when the city's population was 7,000, to its current complement of 57 sworn officers and nine civilians. The majority of that growth occurred from 1986 to 1998 under the direction of then-chief Mary Ann Viverette.
In 1983, the GPD formed a traffic unit.
Viverette was the GPD's chief from 1986 until her retirement in May 2007. John King succeeded Viverette and served until 2010. The GPD currently falls under the leadership of Mark P. Sroka.
From 1971 to 1990, the Gaithersburg Police Department only hired officers who had former experience as police officers.
The majority of the Gaithersburg's police officers have come from other agencies. The experience of these officers comes from agencies such as Montgomery County, Washington, D.C., United States Secret Service, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Maryland National Capital Police, and Baltimore City, to name a few.
David Marstiller was the first Chief of Police, [7] although there are references to a "Town Marshall" in the minutes of Town Council Meetings prior to 1963.
Over the years, there would be several chiefs of police; James Tassie, formerly of the Rockville City Police Department; Marson Johnson, who had been an officer in Michigan; John F. DeVries and George Fusco, both of whom had retired from the Montgomery County Police Department as lieutenants.
No. | Chief | Rank | Life | Tenure | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | David Marstiller | Chief | ||||
2 | James Tassie | Chief | Former Rockville City Police Department officer. | |||
3 | Marson Harry Johnson, Sr. | Director of Police Services [8] | February 20, 1941 – June 11, 2004 (aged 63) | 1974–1977 | Former Michigan policeman. | |
4 | John F. DeVries, Sr. | Chief | Died in 1981 at age 52. [9] | 1977–1980 | Former MCPD lieutenant | |
5 | George Fusco [10] | Chief | 1981–1986 | Former MCPD lieutenant. | ||
6 | Mary Ann Viverette [11] | Chief | 1986–2007 [12] | Retired in May 2007 | ||
7 | John King [13] | Chief | 2007–2010 | |||
8 | Mark P. Sroka | Chief | 2010–present |
Montgomery County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, and Germantown is the most populous place in the county. The county is adjoined to Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area and the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area. Most of the county's residents live in Silver Spring, Bethesda, Germantown, and the incorporated cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg.
Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth-largest incorporated city in Maryland.
Gaithersburg is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-most populous community in the state. Gaithersburg is located to the northwest of Washington, D.C., and is considered a suburb and a primary city within the Washington metropolitan area. Gaithersburg was incorporated as a town in 1878 and as a city in 1968.
Darnestown is a United States census-designated place (CDP) and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland. The CDP is 17.70 square miles (45.8 km2) with the Potomac River as its southern border and the Muddy Branch as much of its eastern border. Seneca Creek borders portions of its north and west sides. The Travilah, North Potomac, and Germantown census-designated places are adjacent to it, as is the city of Gaithersburg. Land area for the CDP is 16.39 square miles (42.4 km2). As of the 2020 census, the Darnestown CDP had a population of 6,723, while the village of Darnestown is considerably smaller in size and population. Downtown Washington, D.C. is about 22 miles (35 km) to the southeast.
North Potomac is a census-designated place and unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located less than 5 miles (8.0 km) north of the Potomac River, and is about 20 miles (32 km) from Washington, D.C. It has a population of 23,790 as of 2020.
Travilah is a United States census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is 17.28 square miles (44.8 km2) located along the north side of the Potomac River, and surrounded by the communities of Potomac, North Potomac, and Darnestown—all census-designated places. It had a population of 11,985 as of the 2020 census.
Charles Alexander Moose was an American author and police officer. He was best known for his roles as being the primary official in charge of efforts to apprehend the D.C. snipers in October 2002 and the "Forest Park Killer", Todd Alan Reed, years prior. During his law enforcement career, Moose served as the chief of police for Montgomery County, Maryland, and Portland, Oregon.
The Washington–Baltimore combined metropolitan statistical area is a statistical area, including the overlapping metropolitan areas of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. The region includes Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, three counties in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, and one county in south-central Pennsylvania. It is the most educated, highest-income, and third-most populous combined statistical area in the United States behind New York City–Newark, NJ and Los Angeles–Long Beach.
Thomas S. Wootton High School or Wootton High School(WHS) is a public high school in Rockville, Maryland. Its namesake is Thomas S. Wootton, the founder of Montgomery County. The school was founded in 1970 and is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system.
Rockville station is an intermodal train station located in downtown Rockville, Maryland, United States. It is served by the Washington Metro Red Line, MARC Brunswick Line commuter trains, and Amtrak Capitol Limited intercity trains.
Interstate 270 (I-270) is a 34.7-mile (55.8 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Maryland that travels from I-495 just north of Bethesda in Montgomery County north to I-70 in the city of Frederick in Frederick County. It consists of the 32.6-mile (52.5 km) mainline as well as a 2.1-mile (3.4 km) spur that provides access to and from southbound I-495. I-270 is known as the Washington National Pike, and makes up the easternmost stretch of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway. Most of the southern part of the route in Montgomery County passes through suburban areas around Rockville and Gaithersburg that are home to many biotech firms. This portion of I-270 is up to 12 lanes wide and consists of a local–express lane configuration as well as high-occupancy vehicle lanes that are in operation during peak travel times. North of the Gaithersburg area, the road continues through the northern part of Montgomery County, passing Germantown and Clarksburg as a six- to eight-lane highway with an HOV lane in the northbound direction only. North of here, I-270 continues through rural areas into Frederick County and toward the city of Frederick as a four-lane freeway.
The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD), officially the Montgomery County Department of Police (MCP), is a nationally accredited agency and the primary law enforcement agency of Montgomery County, Maryland, providing the full spectrum of policing services to the entire county, including the Potomac River.
Maryland Route 355 (MD 355) is a 36.75-mile (59.14 km) north–south road in western central Maryland in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is in Bethesda in Montgomery County, where Wisconsin Avenue meets the county's border with Washington, D.C. The northern terminus is just north of a bridge over Interstate 70 (I-70)/U.S. Route 40 (US 40) in the city of Frederick in Frederick County, where the road continues north as Market Street through Frederick towards MD 26.
Maryland Route 28 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 37.38 miles (60.16 km) from U.S. Route 15 in Point of Rocks east to MD 182 in Norwood. The western portion of MD 28 is a rural highway connecting several villages in southern Frederick County and western Montgomery County. By contrast, the eastern portion of the state highway is a major east–west commuter route, particularly within Gaithersburg and Rockville.
CASA is a Latino and immigration advocacy-and-assistance organization based in Maryland. It is active throughout the state, but has major foci in Prince George's County, Montgomery County and Baltimore. CASA influences Maryland politics on a wide range of policies, ranging from law-enforcement to education. It also has offices in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.
The Greenbelt Police Department (GPD) is the primary law enforcement agency servicing a population of 21,972 within 6.5 square miles (17 km2) of the city of Greenbelt.
The Rockville City Police Department (RCPD) is a U.S. law enforcement agency responsible for patrolling the city of Rockville, the third largest city in the U.S. state of Maryland. The RCPD patrols the city in cooperation with the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD). The agency serves a jurisdiction consisting of over 65,000 people and has been a CALEA-accredited agency since 1994. According to the RCPD, its mission is to protect and promote community safety, ensure the safe and orderly movement of traffic, and seek solutions to any problem that creates fear or threatens the quality of life in its jurisdiction.
Maryland Route 119 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Also known as Great Seneca Highway, the highway runs 7.47 miles (12.02 km) from MD 28 in Rockville north to Middlebrook Road in Germantown. MD 119 is a four- to six-lane divided highway that connects several residential and commercial neighborhoods in Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Germantown. Great Seneca Highway was planned by Montgomery County in the late 1960s as a local relief route for traffic on parallel Interstate 270 (I-270) between the three communities. By the early 1980s, the highway had become controversial because it was proposed to pass through Seneca Creek State Park. A coalition of civic and environmental groups unsuccessfully pursued litigation to stop the highway. The National Park Service refused permission for the county to build the highway in 1985 but reversed itself two years later, by which time the first segment of the highway in Germantown was nearing completion. The Rockville–Gaithersburg section was completed in 1989 and the controversial segment through the state park was finished in 1990. Almost all of Great Seneca Highway became MD 119 in 1999.
Julie Palakovich Carr is an American politician from Maryland. She is a member of the Democratic Party who currently serves in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 17 in Montgomery County. She previously served on the Rockville City Council.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)