$14M Police Station Sits Empty With No Cops

An ongoing budget spat between County Executive Rushern Baker and the Prince George’s County Council has left a new $14 million police station sitting empty.

Baker met Monday with Fort Washington community leaders to explain his side of the budget standoff that has left the new police station without officers to staff it, reports WUSA.

The Prince George’s County Police Department’s District VII station in Fort Washington was slated to open later this summer, but recent budget cuts have delayed that. Currently, there is no set opening date, the department said last week.

Police Chief Mark Magaw said the communities in that area have seen a substantial drop in crime, including a decrease in violent crime by nearly 21 percent, so far this year. The chief says he will not redeploy officers from the county’s other six district stations in order to staff the new station.

“The Prince George’s County Police Department is eager to open the District VII station. Budgetary cuts are requiring agencies to make difficult decisions. Those cuts are preventing us from hiring new officers at a rate faster than current officers will retire,” Magaw said last week in a statement. “Right now, our stations in Oxon Hill and Clinton are serving the communities that will one day be covered by the District VII station. …We look forward to the day District VII can open its doors so we can continue to serve the residents of southern Prince George’s County.”

Earlier this year, Baker proposed a budget that called for countywide furloughs of county workers and layoffs for some, while leaving enough money to staff the police station.

The County Council scrapped Baker’s proposal, instead calling for a 2 percent across-the-board budget cut. WUSA reports Baker vetoed the budget, but the council overrode him.

»Screenshot of new police station courtesy of WUSA