Pubdate: Tue, 30 Jun 2015
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2015 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: Alison Knezevich

EX-BALTO. CO. OFFICER GETS PROBATION IN DRUG CASE

Harden Also Ordered to Perform Community Service

A former Baltimore County police officer who pleaded guilty in a drug 
case will avoid jail time and instead face probation and community service.

Joseph Stanley Harden, 32, was sentenced Monday to two years of 
probation and 100 hours of community service. He could have received 
seven years of incarceration after he pleaded guilty in April to 
attempted fourth-degree burglary and possession of oxycodone.

In July 2014, Harden was accused of trying to kick in the door of a 
drug dealer in Dundalk to steal drugs. Harden announced that he was a 
police officer while trying to get into the dealer's home, and 
prosecutors said such actions endanger the credibility of other officers.

Prosecutor John Magee asked for jail time Monday, saying Harden had 
abused his authority.

"It can be tough enough to be a good police officer," Magee told 
Baltimore County Circuit Judge Ruth Jakubowski. "He certainly should 
be held accountable."

The former officer's defense attorney, John Grason Turnbull III, said 
Harden already had been held accountable because he lost his career. 
Harden - once named "officer of the year" at the county Police 
Department's Essex precinct - agreed to resign from the department as 
part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

He was suspended from the department from the time of his arrest 
until he resigned.

"He looked at his officer friends as family, and he has lost that 
family in one fell swoop," Turnbull said.

Turnbull outlined Harden's descent into prescription drug addiction 
and said his client has devoted himself to getting sober since his arrest.

Harden started using narcotic painkillers while recovering from 
on-the-job injuries that included a broken hand from fighting with a 
suspect, Turnbull said.

Turnbull said Harden suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder 
after a June 2013 incident when the officer shot and killed Arnett 
Myers, 57, in front of the Colony Hotel in White Marsh. Police said 
Myers, who was on a scooter, tried to grab the gun of another 
officer. The shooting was deemed justified by the Police Department 
and the county state's attorney's office.

Turnbull said Harden was cleared for duty after a 15-minute meeting 
with a departmental psychiatrist even though police officials knew he 
was using painkillers. Turnbull said Harden's drug abuse was "not a 
great secret" among his colleagues.

Police spokesman Cpl. John Wachter declined to comment on Turnbull's 
statements about the department.

Turnbull questioned whether the county Police Department had adequate 
safeguards in place to help officers struggling with mental distress. 
He compared the police culture to that of the NFL, where he said 
players are rushed back onto the field after injuries.

"The police mentality is, get back out there," Turnbull said.

Harden, who now works for a bail bondsman, addressed the court during 
his hearing, saying he wanted to apologize to everyone he had hurt. 
He said he was struggling with PTSD and depression, but as a police 
officer was reluctant to seek help.

"In that culture, asking for help, it's not really what people do," he said.

Jakubowski gave Harden a three-year suspended sentence and said he 
would be required to attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings and submit 
to drug testing.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom