A suspended Prince George’s County Police
Officer entered a guilty plea today to two counts of misconduct in office and
four counts of visual surveillance with prurient intent.
Police Officer First Class James Sims has
been suspended with pay since June when he was accused of taking inappropriate
pictures of women while on-duty during traffic stops and while off-duty.
The Department immediately initiated an
Internal Affairs investigation upon learning of the allegations and brought the
findings to the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Police Chief Hank Stawinski issued this statement
following the guilty plea:
“The
Police Department derives its authority to enforce the law from the
community. Therefore, violations of the community’s trust are the most
serious infractions a police officer can commit. I would like to apologize
to the community, but, also, to reassure our residents that this has been taken
extraordinarily seriously as a form of corruption. I have worked with the
State’s Attorney, Angela Alsobrooks, to ensure that this individual, who does
not represent this institution, is held accountable for his actions.”
Sims joined the Department in 2010. The
administrative process will continue once the court action is
complete. Sims is scheduled to be sentenced in court on February 17th,
2017.
Anyone who has additional information on this
investigation or this officer is asked to please call our Internal Affairs
Division at 301-856-2660.
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