Councilman accused of using title for special treatment during son’s traffic stop
By Ashley Paul
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HARFORD COUNTY, Maryland (WJZ) — A Harford County councilman is being asked to resign after the police union accused him of using his title to seek special treatment during his stepson’s traffic stop in June.
The Harford County Fraternal Order of Police released body camera footage showing what was said.
In the video, you see Aberdeen City Councilman Tim Lindecamp introduce himself to officers.
“I’m city councilman Tim Lindecamp. We live two blocks away. He can’t drive the car two blocks?” Lindecamp said.
The June 26 incident is now calling into question whether Lindecamp behaved ethically when his son was pulled over due to a lapse in insurance.
Lindecamp said he does not plan to resign from the council and will go forward with the November election.
The Aberdeen Police chief tells WJZ in a statement, “Every allegation was thoroughly investigated by the Aberdeen Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division. The investigation determined that no policies were violated by any member of the department.”
Requests for comment from the MVA and the FOP also went unanswered.
Lindecamp told WJZ that there was never a lapse in his insurance, but a glitch with the MVA showed otherwise.
He said his son had proof of insurance, but the officer wouldn’t look at it.
“They didn’t want to hear that. I went down to help him,” Lindecamp said. “I did introduce myself as a councilman because it was 1:30 in the morning and I wanted them to know who I was.”
A letter sent Monday to Lindecamp from the Harford County Fraternal Order of Police accused Lindecamp of using his title to get his son out of trouble.
The letter reads in part, “The Executive Board became aware of the allegations involving your unethical, and possibly unlawful conduct, when you voluntarily inserted yourself and your authority as an Aberdeen City Councilman.”
It goes on to say, “Your actions are a blatant erosion of the public’s trust and have tarnished your standing as a public official.”
“I was surprised they want me to resign, but I wasn’t surprised they sent it to me because I’ve been battling with the chief so much. I knew there was going to be retaliation,” Lindecamp responded.
Lindecamp had been advocating for a larger patrol unit within the police department by lessening the number of command positions, which he said has caused a rift between him and the chief.
He says this situation was blown out of proportion now, three months later, to smear his campaign because he is up for reelection in November.
WJZ asked Lindecamp how he would respond to people who say he identified himself as a councilmember in hopes of receiving special treatment.
“Special treatment? I told them they could take the tags at any time.” Lindecamp said. “I was trying to get the car stopped from being impounded. That’s all I was trying to do.”
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