Prince George’s County Police Chief Hank Stawinski Resigns Amid Racial Bias in Police Department

Prince George’s County Police Chief Hank Stawinski resigned effectively Thursday morning. County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced she accepted the resignation.

The resignation came shortly after the American Civil Liberties Union press conference. The ACLU presented a 94-page report of racial bias and discrimination toward officers of color.

The reports included two dozen incidents in which white officers made racist remarks or displayed racist behavior. Many went undisciplined, while officers of color faced retaliation for reporting the incidents.

One of the plaintiffs Lt. Sonya Zollicoffer had this to say about the matter:

“I’m never pleased for someone losing their position, losing their job, or having to step down. But I will say that it was coming because we had been asking for change for so long and complete, genuine transparency and we weren’t getting that.”

“You have to fix it within before you can fix it outside the department. Because it filters out to the community.”

– Lt. Sonya Zollifcoffer

Alsobrooks will have a news conference at noon Friday addressing Stawinski’s resignation.