My name is Harold Bell and I live in Suitland, Md. For the pass several months me and my neighbors have become concerned about what looks like out of control“Cowboy Cops” on the Prince Georges County Police Department.  I have eye-witnessed them traveling in packs of threes between Marlboro Pike and on Silver Hill Road to Branch Ave. (route 5) targeting black and minority drivers.

There is the possibility that these stops were legal but what really got my attention to these frequent stops was on Wednesday August 18th and Friday August 21st.

On Wednesday morning I had just left the ATM at the Wells Fargo Bank on Silver Hill Road.  It was around 9:15 am when I stopped at the light at the intersection of Silver Hill Road and Penn. Ave.  I was heading toward the Census Bureau and there were three police cars were headed in the opposite direction sitting at the same light.

When the light changed to green the three cars sped off in the direction of Marlboro Pike.  I thought maybe there was an emergency but there were no sirens or flashing lights indicating an emergency call. The two lead cars were driven by what looked like a Hispanic and white officers and the third car following was driven by a black officer.  Suddenly the white cop yelled something to the Hispanic officer on his left and broke out with a smile.  I thought to myself–WOW!

I continue my drive home on Silver Hill Road toward the Census Bureau when I decided to stop for takeout breakfast at the McDonald’s located at the intersection of Porter Street and Silver Hill Road. While I was standing in line waiting for my order to be taken I heard a customer behind say, “There go those Cowboy Cops again!”  I turned to look and saw the same three police officers I had seen speeding off at the intersection of Silver Hill and Penn. Ave. Another customer chimed-in and said ‘That is routine in this neighborhood.  They profile us all the time.’  As I drove out of the McDonald’s the three police officers were still lingering on the street in front of the 7-11 store smiling and laughing like they were playing some kind of game. The driver they had pulled over had driven off.

To avoid an illegal stop, instead of me pulling out on to Silver Hill Road and making a left turn I chose to make a right on to Silver Hill Road and take the long way home via Penn. Ave to Regency Parkway. But once I got home I was upset at myself for having to be scare of those who are suppose to be protecting me.

On Friday August 21st I drive up to the Exxon Gas Station located at the intersection of Suitland Road and Silver Hill Road to carry my car through in inspection.  It was a beautiful afternoon around 1:30 pm and I was sitting out by the garage when I heard the siren of an emergency vehicle.  I was sitting down and the cars in the station were blocking my view of the police action taking place 25 yards in front of me.

When I stood up to see what was going on I saw three PG County police cars had pulled over a black motorist.  Probably a legal stop, but this time I pulled out my cell phone camera to record the stop.  One of the police officers notice me taking a video of them and pulled out his camera and started to video me, I guess this was to intimidate me.

By chance the motorist stayed around the station after he was given the ticket.  I took this opportunity to discuss with him what had just happen.  His name was Sherman a visitor to the city from Mississippi.  He said the cops claimed they had pulled him over for a bad left tail light.  They then ran his license plate through their data base and discovered his registration had expired and gave him a ticket for $140.

Their next move he said he could not understand?  They asked him to get out of the car and proceeded to pat him down like he was a criminal.  “I would have understood if this was in Mississippi but not in Maryland.  This kind of thing still happens in Mississippi all the time”, said Sherman.  After the pat down, the officers popped his trunk and searched it without asking his permission. This was an illegal search!  In the meantime, while I am talking to the motorist a PG County officer sits in his car across the street watching watch us.

The mechanic at the Exxon station warned me, “They are going to arrest you to.”  When he asked to see my video my street instincts told me he was a look-out and informant for the cops.

Governor Hogan, I am a 4th generation Washingtonian and I have been living in Prince Georges’ County for 45 years.  I remember in the 40s and 50s as a young man me and my friends use to drive into the county via Suitland Road with an adult driver and before we could get to Silver Hill Road we were pulled over by white cops routinely, asking, “Where are you boys headed?”  I have not forgotten when the PG County Police Department was one of the most brutal in the country when it came to minorities, right behind LA and NY City.  They were on the FBI watch list for decades–are we back there?

 My life long friend Andrew Johnson (on your left) with Willie Wood (NFL) front and center.  We were partners in the inner-city when he was a foot patrolman.  He went on to become one of the top homicide detectives on the DCPD.  He retired from law-enforcement as a supervisor with the DEA.  He was recently profiled by a nervous white cop on Mitchellville Road claiming he spotted a crack in his windshield.  He saw the cop sitting back up in a corner off the road as he drove by.  The officer immediately pulled in behind him.  There was no way this officer could have seen a crack in his windshield as he drove by.  What he saw was a black man in a Mercedes.  The nervous cop apologize and got back in his car and pulled off.  This Cowboy Cop attitude extends from Section 8 Housing in Suitland to the Gated Community in Woodmoore.  No black person is safe or immune from these Cowboy Cops or the politicians and ministers that protect them.

Governor Hogan you are an alumnus of DeMatha High School and I know Coach Morgan Wooten had to touch you somewhere along the way.  When I read you learned integrity from your father, that means you had the best of both worlds, because Coach Wooten is definitely a man of integrity.  He has been a great friend and supporter of Kids In Trouble and Inside Sports for decades.  You mention the name of Harold Bell and there will be no hesitation coming from him as it relates to our relationship (truly a man of integrity).

In a recent radio interview with Congressman Hank Johnson (D-Ga 4th District), he explained to me why he had to express his disappointment with his colleagues on the House Floor as it related to the outright “War on Black Men” in America by police departments across America.  He said, “There are too many in law enforcement who would rather use their guns instead of their heads.”  This is a courageous politician/man who has decided he is no longer going along to get along.  He reminded me of another courageous black politician, Adam Clayton Powell.  Congressman Powell was a Baptist minister who represented Harlem, New York.  He became a powerful national politician for the Democratic Party.  He was a unpologetic national spokesman on civil rights and other social issues that concerned the black community (1945-71).  Today he is that courageous and unpologetic voice on Capitol Hill.

Congressman Johnson constituency base is in the 4th District of Georgia but as a native Washingtonian, he remembers the senseless police brutality of the PG County police department.  The department was under a U. S. Justice Department/FBI watch for decades.  Are we headed back there or are we still there?  In April Congressman Johnson stood on the House Floor and told his colleagues “It feels like open season on Black Men in America.” See link below.