Former police chief to run for county sheriff
Thursday - 4/29/2010, 4:34pm ET
WASHINGTON - Why is a former Prince George's County police chief running for sheriff?
"Public safety is what I do," Melvin High said Thursday to officially launch his campaign for county sheriff.
High will be going up against five other candidates, including Sheriff's Deputy Rafael Hylton, the brother of current Prince George's County Police Chief Roberto Hylton.
The other candidates are Edward Cheeks, Daniel Hall, Darryl Morgan and Louis Wood, Jr. All except Cheeks and High have worked for the County Sheriff's Office.
High has a wait-and-see attitude toward what his former department is going through right now. Prince George's County police officers were caught on video beating a University of Maryland student after a Duke game in early March. Four officers have been suspended.
"Right now, there are some ongoing investigations," High says. "So I'm like all of the other citizens of Prince George's County -- let's wait and see what the results of those are."
High was police chief when the Sheriff's Department SWAT team killed Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo's dogs during a botched drug raid. It turned out that Calvo and his family were innocent. The police department had asked for the sheriff's department's help in the case.
High says the incident helped everyone grow and learn.
"There has been some legislation that has been introduced and passed by our state that will improve transparency and accountability."
High is referring to a law passed by the Maryland General Assembly last year that requires SWAT teams in the state to report their activities to the state attorney general over the next five years.
High resigned as Prince George's County police chief in August of 2008.
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