CELEBRATINGCELEBRATING 8787 YEARSYEARS OFOF SERVICE!SERVICE! Vol. 87, No.32 • 50¢ A NEWSPAPER OF RECORD Thursday, August 15, 2019 INSIDE Bayhawks Drop Outlaws PGPD previously Forest Heights Doubles In Size involved in arrest The Town of Forest Heights recently had its plan to more than the double limits of their town by incentive program the annexation of nearby land ap- proved and finalized by the courts. ence, Stawinski said the unautho- By Alexander Tuerk rized program was not a quota sys- Special to The Sentinel Page 3 tem with a certain number of actions SEABROOK – Prince George’s as a goal, but rather a reward for pro- Police Department (PGPD) Chief ductivity. Ticket quotas were banned Hank P. Stawinski condemned a six- in Maryland in 2006 via legislative month-long unauthorized yet legal action, but that bill only covered traf- incentive program in District 2 dur- fic tickets. ing a press conference on Aug. 7. “This creates the possibility in The program, according to people’s mind that an officer would Stawinski, rewarded the officers in make a traffic stop, detain a person, the district who had the highest num- make an arrest, to receive a benefit,” ber of “enforcement actions,” such Stawinski said, “It’s not the appro- as arrests, citations and warnings, priate manner to professionally po- with 10 hours of compensatory time lice in 2019.” on a monthly basis. Stawinski said he was alerted to Compensatory time is paid time the program on July 26 by the de- ‘Amélie’ off given instead of traditional over- partment’s inspector general, Don- time pay, according to PGPD nell Turner. The Office of the Inspec- Check out Mark Dreison- Spokesperson Jennifer Donelan. tor General performs investigations stok’s review this week. Stawinski said that the com- and audits into the police as an inde- mander and assistant commander re- pendent party, according to their Page 7 sponsible for the program were reas- website. signed elsewhere in the department The same day, Stawinski said he but did not disclose their names or convened the deputy chiefs to ensure new assignments due to state person- no other programs existed in the de- nel law. partment’s other districts and initiat- District 2 covers Bowie, Glen- ed an investigation into District 2. PHOTO BY MICHAEL SMITH dale, Greenbelt, Kettering, Largo, Prior to the issue coming to Bayhawks attacker John Wagner takes a shot during an MLL lacrosse Lanham, Mitchelville, New Carroll- Stawinski and Turner’s notice, the matchup between the Chesapeake Bayhawks and the Denver Outlaws on ton, Seabrook, Springdale, Upper Aug. 10 in Annapolis. Story on Page 24. Marlboro and Woodmore. Throughout the press confer- See Incentive, Page 4 Opportunity Zone Task Force discusses development priorities in county United Win! counties, said Rutherford, who is the a State Opportunity Plan to align Op- ing individual communities, Ruther- By Jessica Ricks In front of a sellout crowd of chair of the task force. portunity Zone goals with state and ford said. @jessica_ricks25 20,006, the Black-and-Red pulled The Opportunity Zone Program local economic and cultural priori- Prince George’s County espe- out a gusty, defensive performance LARGO — Lt. Gov. Boyd is a national effort that is adminis- ties as well as partnering with local cially has the chance to benefit from against one of the league’s best of- Rutherford hosted the Opportunity tered by the U.S. Treasury Depart- governments. the Opportunity Zones Program be- fenses to complete a 2-1 win on Zone Leadership Task Force region- ment and was created as part of the “I do believe that the Opportuni- cause the county contains 25 Oppor- Aug. 9. al summit for Prince George’s Coun- 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It is in- ty Zones Program represents an ex- tunity Zones. ty to discuss how county leadership tended to be a catalyst for long-term citing endeavor for our entire state “We think it is a magnificent op- Page 21 and the task force is looking to take investments in low-income areas by and for this region, and for many portunity for us to continue to devel- advantage of the county’s Opportu- providing federal tax incentives for communities, it is going to make a op in the county and to bring addi- nity Zones on Aug. 7. investment in distressed communi- big difference in what they need, the tional business, jobs and opportuni- The Opportunity Zone Leader- ties over the next 10 years. needs that they have,” Rutherford ties here and we’ve seen that there is ship Task Force has had meetings in The Maryland Opportunity said. no better place than Prince George’s different regions throughout the Zone Leadership Task Force was es- As the task force has met with County for this kind of opportunity state, including Baltimore, the East- tablished by an executive order en- stakeholders throughout the state, to exist,” County Executive Angela ern Shore and Southern Maryland, to acted by Gov. Larry Hogan in Janu- they have been successful in getting Alsobrooks said during the meeting. discuss what the development of Op- ary 2019. Following the regional information from the public and offi- portunity Zones will mean for those summits, the task force will develop cials that will assist them in improv- See Opportunity, Page 4 2 THE PRINCE GEORGE’S SENTINEL AUGUST 15, 2019 OPINION The Prince George’s Sentinel, published weekly by Berlyn Inc., is a Run, hide and fight … again and again community newspaper covering Prince George’s County, Maryland. It There has not been a death as a escape the shooter. Realizing that vides long-term protection. is a newspaper of record. Our offices By Paul K. Schwartz are located at 9458 Lanham-Severn result of a fire in any of our schools staying together as a group gave the Running is the best option, but Road, Suite 203, Seabrook, MD 20706. @PKSpaul Sold for 50¢ per single copy, subscrip- across the nation since the 1950s. That shooter a much larger target, the sec- only if you have a clear path of es- tions to The Prince George’s Sentinel After writing this weekly column is not to say that there have not been ond time we conducted the exercise cape. The last resort is fighting when can be obtained at these rates: $31.50 per year, $26.20 for senior citizens. for almost five years, it is not surpris- any fires at our schools; it is only to with the same students they realized there is no place to run and no place to Higher rates apply outside MD/VA/DC. ing that issues previously covered say that there have not been any the need to disperse and, thereby, pro- hide, and you are facing the shooter. (ISSN 1041-262x, USPS 444-840) raise their ugly heads again and again. deaths as a result of those fires. vide the shooter with smaller targets. Securing the location you are in to I think it safe to say that we have Yes, there would still be deaths, make it as difficult as possible for the Bernard Kapiloff fire drills down reasonably well. In but fewer. shooter to achieve entry buys you PUBLISHER EMERITUS Paul’s View some schools, the fire drills include So, what is the purpose of this time, and every second counts when Lynn G. Kapiloff blocking some passageways and rec- column? you are awaiting a law enforcement CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER/ By ognizing the fact that fires can be un- To make the point that we, all of response. PUBLISHER predictable. us, must always be aware of our sur- There is no plan to cover every [email protected] Paul K. Schwartz As with almost anything, the roundings whether we be at a movie scenario, but the important thing to “times they are a-changin.’” The theater in Aurora, a school as in New- understand is that the decisions you Mark Kapiloff threats we faced in years past are not town, a shopping center as in Aspen make when confronted with an active ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Sadly, gun violence in America the same threats we face today. How Hill, a mall as in Columbia, a parking shooter situation may be the differ- [email protected] and the onslaught of mass shootings is we adapt to those changing threats of- lot in the Montgomery Mall, an air- ence between surviving or not. one issue that has continued time and ten is the difference between life and port, a Metro station or even your There is something called the again. death. work location as in the Navy Yard. OODA Loop, which was designed to EDITORIAL After I concluded my career with Just a few short years ago, some The most important thing to un- help individuals analyze an event to the federal government after close to students at a middle school in Jones- derstand when being thrown into a life- determine the best course of action. Daniel Kucin Jr. 40 years, I did some work with a boro, Arkansas decided to “take out” threatening situation is to understand OODA stands for observe, ori- EXECUTIVE EDITOR company named safeplans that spe- some of their classmates along with your options. There are almost always ent, decide, act. First, you observe [email protected] cialized in school security and safety some of their teachers. After pulling options to consider, some better than and become aware of the danger, then assessments and provided active the fire alarm at the school, they pa- others, but still there to consider. you orient yourself and consider your José Umaña shooter training.