Baltimore County Sen. James Brochin wants to set guidelines for the use of strip searches, including a requirement that officers conducting the exam must be of the same sex as the person being searched. his proposal would prevent police from doing strip-searches for most misdemeanors or traffic offenses, but it provides exceptions if officers have a reasonable, fact-based suspicion that the suspect may be concealing drugs or weapons.

Representatives from a county prosecutor’s office and several police and sheriff’s departments, however, testified against the measure Tuesday.

“This is something we take very seriously in law enforcement,” Howard County Chief of Police Bill McMahon said on behalf of the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association. “We know we can’t do our jobs, we can’t do good police work, we can’t have good community relations unless we respect the rights of our citizens.”

McMahon says he supports the intent of the bill but that protections against unwarranted strip searches already exist: “Our general problem with this has to do with legislating policies that we feel are already in place.”

Lawyers for the Charles County Sheriff’s Office and the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office noted that the Maryland Court of Appeals has ruled twice in recent years to limit the use of strip searches and set guidelines for when they are acceptable.

Brochin says he’s backing the measure because the rulings haven’t stopped officers from inappropriately authorizing strip searches. he says he decided to sponsor the bill after reading media reports last year about a 29-year-old nurse who said she was strip-searched at Baltimore’s Central Booking facility after being pulled over for traffic violations.

“We need to protect people and this is one area where I believe we are failing badly,” Brochin said, adding he hoped his bill would improve police training.

A woman who says she was strip-searched twice after police detained her and others protesting abortion in August 2008 sent a letter to state lawmakers in support of the measure.

Angela Swagler said in her letter that she was part of a group that was “peacefully holding signs” when police arrested her and others in the group, held them overnight, strip-searched them twice and charged the group members with “minor misdemeanors,” that were later all dismissed.

According to Swagler, the first strip search occurred in the parking lot of state police barracks near male officers. A female officer looked down the young women’s shirts to inspect their bras for contraband. The second strip search occurred in the county detention center, when the young women were taken individually into a bathroom and ordered to lift up their shirts and bras.

“These searches left the young women tearful, ashamed and confused,” Swagler wrote, adding that “they posed no danger to police safety.”

“In fact, far from being threatening, the young women comforted each other during their ordeal by singing hymns and praying together.”

Officials with the Maryland State Police said they do not track how many suspects are strip-searched each year.

Read Senate Bill 125: http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/SB0125.htm

Some law enforcement oppose strip search bill • Government (www …

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