Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) cited recent changes in Maryland’s use-of-force policy for why multiple law enforcement agencies were reported as being unable to assist with security for the 2025 presidential inauguration ceremonies.
Just days before the inauguration, seven Maryland-based police departments confirmed to The Daily Caller that they will not be working with MPD, despite having assisted with security in the nation’s capital in previous years. At least one department, the Montgomery County Police Department, revealed it was due to issues with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the departments. Some of these departments, including those in Anne Arundel County and Prince George’s County, as well as Maryland State Police, said they would be assisting the United States Capitol Police instead.
“Due to differences in the interpretation of Maryland’s recent legislation on Use of Force compared to the District of Columbia’s Use of Force policies, some Maryland agencies are unable to assist MPD directly for the inauguration. However, many of these agencies are contributing to the event’s security efforts through agreements with the United States Capitol Police,” Washington, D.C. police told The Daily Caller in a statement.
Maryland state legislators passed new restrictions on police use-of-force and repealed the nation’s first Police Bill of Rights in April 2021 following the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd. The sweeping police reform bill stipulates force can be used only to prevent “an imminent threat of physical injury” to a person or to “effectuate a legitimate law enforcement objective.” It also upgraded the standard for using force from “reasonable” to “necessary and proportional.”
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