If you don’t know what the job and responsibilities of being Baltimore County Sheriff are then here is your chance. Candidate Clyde Boatwright educates Nestor on the history of the role and why he is running on June 23rd as we continue to learn about candidates, civics and democracy and why it’s important to vote on local issues.

Nestor Aparicio interviews Clyde Boatwright, a candidate for Baltimore County Sheriff, on his radio show. Boatwright explains the sheriff’s primary responsibilities, including court security, prisoner transport, and child support enforcement. He criticizes the current sheriff’s office for being inactive and not addressing crime effectively. Boatwright emphasizes his 25 years of law enforcement experience, his plan to modernize the office, and his focus on domestic violence response. He also highlights the need for better recruitment and retention to address the 40% vacancy rate. Boatwright aims to increase visibility and accountability, ensuring county residents feel safe.

• [ ] Update sheriff’s office policy to allow certified sheriff’s deputies to perform traffic stops and issue citations so deputies can be more involved in crime-fighting and community enforcement
• [ ] Create and implement a 24-hour domestic violence unit that responds to domestic violence calls, assists Baltimore County Police, and serves domestic orders directly to provide immediate victim services
• [ ] Conduct a serious recruitment and retention push to fill vacancies and hire court security staff to achieve compliance with Maryland Senate Bill 544 (ensure required deputy coverage per courtroom) by the July 1, 2027 statutory deadline

Introduction and Political Encouragement

• Nestor Aparicio introduces the show, mentioning various local events and initiatives, including the Maryland Crab Cake Tour and the Maryland lottery.
• Nestor encourages listeners to register to vote and participate in the upcoming election on June 23.
• He discusses his involvement in interviewing political candidates and the importance of understanding various roles in government, such as sheriffs and councilmen.
• Nestor introduces Clyde Boatwright, a candidate running for Baltimore County Sheriff, and mentions Boatwright’s website, Boat Right for Sheriff.

Overview of Baltimore County Sheriff’s Role

• Clyde Boatwright explains the primary responsibilities of the Baltimore County Sheriff, including securing the circuit court, providing prisoner transport, and enforcing child support laws.
• He notes that the sheriff is the enforcement arm of the court system and that the position is up for election every four years.
• Boatwright mentions that the current sheriff, RJ Fisher, has decided to retire, making the position open for new candidates.
• He highlights his decision to run against the incumbent sheriff to bring change and modernize the sheriff’s office.

Defining Moment and Personal Background

• Clyde Boatwright shares his defining moment for running, citing increased crime and violence in Baltimore County and the need for the sheriff’s office to be more involved in the community.
• He emphasizes his extensive law enforcement experience, including 25 years as a police supervisor in Baltimore City.
• Boatwright discusses his background and his desire to make the sheriff’s office more visible and accessible to county residents.
• He mentions the current policy that prevents sheriff’s deputies from making traffic stops, which he plans to change to allow deputies to be more involved in the crime fight.

Modernization and Community Involvement

• Nestor Aparicio and Clyde Boatwright discuss the concept of a modern sheriff’s department and the importance of community involvement.
• Boatwright outlines his plan to create a 24-hour domestic violence unit to respond to calls and assist the county police.
• He explains the current inefficiencies in the system, where orders have to be driven around the county, and his plan to streamline this process.
• Boatwright emphasizes the need for a modern sheriff’s office that delivers services efficiently and effectively.

Fiscal Responsibility and Recruitment Challenges

• Clyde Boatwright discusses the importance of fiscal responsibility and the need for a sheriff who can manage the budget effectively.
• He highlights the recruitment and retention issues in the sheriff’s office, noting that the office is operating at 40% capacity.
• Boatwright shares his experience in recruitment and retention, including his role as the Union President for the Baltimore City School Police Force.
• He mentions his endorsement by the police and fire unions, indicating strong support from public safety organizations.

Crime and Public Safety

• Nestor Aparicio and Clyde Boatwright discuss the reality of crime in the region, emphasizing that crime has no boundaries.
• Boatwright shares his experience with the summer youth engagement program in downtown Baltimore, which has led to reductions in crime and violence.
• He explains the importance of having an all-hands-on-deck approach to ensure the safety of county residents.
• Boatwright emphasizes the need for a visible and accessible sheriff’s office that can respond quickly to community needs.

First Steps as Sheriff

• Clyde Boatwright outlines his first steps if elected, including compliance with Senate Bill 544, which requires courthouses to have security officers.
• He plans to launch a serious recruitment push to address the current vacancies in the sheriff’s office.
• Boatwright shares his approach to recruiting mature individuals who are looking for a second career in law enforcement.
• He emphasizes the importance of identifying potential talent and building a robust office in the first few months.

Community Engagement and Accountability

• Nestor Aparicio and Clyde Boatwright discuss the importance of community engagement and accountability for the sheriff’s office.
• Boatwright plans to be visible, accessible, and accountable to county residents, ensuring they know who the sheriff is and what the office does.
• He emphasizes the need for the sheriff’s office to be a partner with the police chief and the state’s attorney in addressing community needs.
• Boatwright highlights the importance of constituent services and being responsive to the needs of county residents.

Closing Remarks and Encouragement to Vote

• Nestor Aparicio encourages listeners to register to vote and participate in the political process, emphasizing the importance of making the county better.
• He thanks Clyde Boatwright for his service and for coming on the show to discuss his candidacy.
• Boatwright expresses his gratitude for the platform and the opportunity to share his vision for the sheriff’s office.
• Nestor concludes the segment by reiterating the importance of voting and staying informed about local issues and candidates.

Nestor Aparicio 0:01
Welcome home. We are W N S T A M 1570 Towson Baltimore. We are a Baltimore positive. We talk a lot of sports around here. We’re going to get out and do the Maryland Crab Cake Tour, beginning on the 10th at Sorrento of Arbutus. I will have the scratch also in the Maryland lottery, including, uh, you know, I have to have the Bay Bridge, which leads me to the Blackwater, which leads me to the horses, which leads me to Ocean City, Maryland. Also, our friends at GBMC and Farner and Dermer put me out on the road. It is the political season. I am encouraging everyone to register to vote and make sure you are voting on or around June 23 but not after, and make sure you get involved in this election cycle, lots of folks have gotten involved, as I’ve gotten involved in interviewing political candidates and bringing them on to talk about democracy, talk about what sheriffs of Baltimore County or councilmen do, or what city government’s all about. Clyde Boatwright wrote to me, and he said, “Hey, I want to come on and talk about running for Baltimore County Sheriff. His website is Boat Right for sheriff.com I do not know Clyde. He hails from Middle River, and much like that, we were talking before we went on, much like everybody else in the county. I’m in one of those places where things are moving, because we’ve gone from seven councilmanic districts to nine, where everybody’s focused on the county executive race. I have Izzy Patoka on this week, I’ve had Nick on, I’m going to have Julian on, I’m having everybody on, but you come at me from the sheriff thing. I, that, that’s, we got a lot to concern ourselves with here on june 23 as well as down ballot election items and other issues on the ballot that I’m not going to address. But Clyde, welcome on Citizen Clyde Boat, right running for Sheriff of Baltimore. First things first, welcome. Good day to you. The weather’s nicer. What is the sheriff of Baltimore County? What is that all about? I, that is an interesting thing that I don’t know that I could run for it or explain it to people.

Clyde Boatwright 1:49
And good, good morning again, Nestor. And thank you for having me on again. My name is Clyde Boatwright, candidate for Baltimore County Sheriff. So, the sheriff’s primary responsibility is to secure the circuit court to provide prisoner transport, to provide witness warrant apprehension, and to enforce child support laws. So, the sheriff is the enforcement arm of the court system, and each, for every four years, during each gubernatorial election, we have to elect a new sheriff, or you know, we can reelect the old sheriff in Baltimore County. We’ve had the same sheriff for the last 24 years. Prior to him becoming a Baltimore County sheriff, he was the.. he worked for the Baltimore City Police Department for over 30 years, so you know, and over 50 years of law enforcement, over a year ago, one year ago, I decided that I was going to take on the incumbent sheriff to bring change and modernize the sheriff’s office.

Nestor Aparicio 2:51
What was your defining moment in wanting to do this, and your, your why in wanting to do this?

Clyde Boatwright 3:00
So, my why is I’ve seen increased, you know, crime and violence throughout our county, and you know, as a career law enforcement officer, I know we’ll get into background, but I’ve been in law enforcement for 25 years. I’m currently a police supervisor in Baltimore City. I’ve, you know, watched crime and violence trends start to happen in Baltimore County, and I felt like the current sheriff’s office was not at the table. There’s an old saying, if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. And so I wanted to get the sheriff’s office involved in helping the Baltimore County Police Department with some of the crime fight, but also just becoming more visible and accessible and accountable to Baltimore County residents. The

Nestor Aparicio 3:46
crime I see committed the most is when I just get out on the Beltway, and I see people driving 100 miles, and now I see people racing, you know, putting my life at jeopardy every day. I don’t feel I’m at Towson radio station, and Towson is getting bagged on lately. I don’t feel unsafe walking the streets of Baltimore County, or most of Baltimore City, quite frankly. Now that I walk around, I go to the city all the pub, you go to the city. I mean, reputation follows all of this, but what, as a county citizen, what should I know about crime and my sheriff at this point? And by the way, you know, most people didn’t know the sheriff’s name, even though he’s been voted on, RJ Fisher, Sheriff, so I’m just throwing that out there. I’ve never.. I don’t know that I’ve ever met RJ Fisher or talked to RJ Fisher. I’m happy to do that, but what should I know about the current sheriff’s office that has you up in arms about wanting to run for this office?

8

Clyde Boatwright 4:40
Well, just, you know, it’s we’re not using the sheriff’s office in the best capacity, and so you know, not to bag on Sheriff Fisher, he has decided to retire, and we thank him for his service, so it’s an open seat, and I’m the best qualified candidate of the those that are running, the only one. With the leadership experience, I’m the only one with only person with the budgetary experience, and these are all documented things that you can find about me, but the what county residents should know to answer your question is just that if you see a person speeding by a sheriff’s deputy’s car under the current policies that sheriff’s deputy, who is a certified police officer in Maryland, in the state of Maryland, cannot make a traffic stop and issue a citation. So that’s just a policy thing, and that’s one of the things that I’m going to change and allow our sheriff’s deputies to be more involved in the crime fight, but more involved in community, and if you, you know, just look across the state of Maryland, most of our sheriff’s offices are visible, and unfortunately, in Baltimore County, it’s by design that the sheriff’s office is a dormant agency that’s run like, you know, Andy Griffith Mayberry.

Nestor Aparicio 5:56
Well, so what would modernization look like? By the way, Clyde Boatwright is our guest. If you’re listening on radio, running for Baltimore County Sheriff, I’m learning how to say county because I’m from Dundalk, and I say county, county. But yeah, I mean, I, it’s fascinating to me at this point to have all of you on, and I’m sort of overwhelmed by candidates right now that everyone feels like they want to roll their sleeves up all of a sudden, and I like that. I like all the fresh blood. I like talking to people about incumbents leaving, and we haven’t had change in this department in, you know, a quarter of a century that people want to come in and at least frame it up for a citizen like me. I’m just the guy on the radio talking sports, right? Like, what does it mean to have a modern sheriff’s department or a more visible sheriff’s department.

Clyde Boatwright 6:46
Well, you know, it’s about delivery of services, you know, the big thing that I wanted, my main campaign issue that I’m campaigning on is the issue of domestic violence, that’s, you know, pretty prevalent across the county, and so what a modern sheriff’s office would look like is having a 24 hour domestic violence unit that can respond to calls for service and assist the county police and bring resources to domestic violence victims and get them the services that they need immediately without hesitation under the current system. If a person calls for domestic violence situation. Once the order is issued, the order has to be driven around the county. Well, you know, let’s say it happens in Catonsville, they have to come from Towson to drive the order to Catonsville, then call the Baltimore County police off the street from answering 911 calls to go make an attempt to serve that domestic order. Under my plan, my deputies will take that order from whatever courthouse that is issued and go directly without the middleman and serve the domestic order to help bring the domestic abuse to justice.

Nestor Aparicio 7:53
Well, someone that’s pushed paperwork in the city for a period of time, and I talked to nothing but paper pushers here in regard to politics and different things that there, there are some archaic things that I hear about in city and county government in regard to modernization, that it’s gotten pushed to the next, the next cycle, it’s gotten pushed in that, well, you know, that’s not the way we do things here, I feel like there is a shake up, and if, if anything positive could possibly come from Trump running this country, it’s that there’s been an activation to say this is unacceptable, that people are running on the platform of, we need to get more modern, we need to get better than where we’ve been.

Clyde Boatwright 8:39
Yeah, so I talk about the delivery of services, I mean, the county residents and taxpayers, our tax dollars is funding under the new budget this office at the tune of $8.5 million and so we need to get all of the services that we can get for that investment, we need a return on the investment, and so you know we need to make sure, sure, that we have a sheriff that’s fiscally responsible. I will say that, you know, the sheriff’s office has not really had any major scandals ever, and we can’t get to the point where we start to have, you know, fiscal mismanagement, or you know, just not having the right person at the helm to take over this organization and make it, you know, more like a 21st century police department. That’s one of the things I specialize in. The one thing that the sheriff’s office is getting wrong is the fact that, you know, the recruitment and retention, retention issues. I know a lot of people try to say that all police departments have recruitment and retention issues, but this office is operating at 40% capacity. So, with 60% vacancies in the agency, we have to do better to, in order to deliver services.

Nestor Aparicio 9:56
Were you a street cop?

Clyde Boatwright 9:58
Yes.

8

Nestor Aparicio 9:59
Now, what year? First, we’re give me an error, a little background on you, because whenever I would have Don Moeller on, former Baltimore County executive and co-host of Baltimore Positive, he’d always talk about police and saying, you know, it’s a job of service, not a job of adventure, and I see just in the military with this clown running a department of war and and speaking like a meat head, I’m thinking to myself, this is exactly who we can’t have in the military, and the cops, this, let’s go get them, let’s fire our guns, let’s be manly men, just I, you know, officer friendly and officer sunshine, we would make those jokes and Dundalk and all of that, but I had friends who grew up to be cops, and they were serious people, they, you know, and that made me feel good that they were serious people, that if I got pulled over by them, and you know, I’ve traveled the world a little bit, I’ve seen crooked cops in different places and experienced all that, certainly the legacy of Baltimore City and movies that have been made about how awful, and turns out the worst cop ever was from Essex. He was a county guy that went to, went for the city, right? I mean, probably passed him in East Point Mall, chase the same girls we were kids in the 80s. But, like, for me, who wants to be a cop, and how the recruitment process works, it’s got to be the toughest job in our society. It has to be,

Clyde Boatwright 11:21
yeah, yeah, yeah. For me, I’ve been in law enforcement since 2000 and you know, I’ve seen the days of zero tolerance, you know, under, you know, a certain mayor in Baltimore City that later became governor, and with zero tolerance, you know, I grew up in West Baltimore, over in the area where we saw the civil unrest in the area of Freddie Gray, so that was the neighborhood that I grew up in, and I eventually became a police officer working in that area. I started out with the city sheriff’s office as a sheriff’s deputy for the first few years of my career, and then in 2003 I went to the Baltimore City School Police Force, which is where I currently serve. Not only do I work with the Baltimore City School Police Force, I’m the first and only Union President in the history of that organization, Baltimore City School Police, and I’m also the statewide president for all police officers in the state of Maryland with the Fraternal Order of Police, and that’s a position I’ve held for the last six years. When I say cops, trust me, that that has shown in my career, the fact that I’ve been re-elected multiple times to be the leader of the union that represents police officers, but in fact, with my just, you know, this during this campaign season receiving the overwhelming support and endorsement of the police union and the fire union, so public safety supports my candidacy, and public safety understands that I’m the correct person for the job.

Nestor Aparicio 12:54
What do county residents need to know about crime and where it comes from in this imaginary county city line, that it’s safe over there, but it’s not safe over here. I find a lot of that to be very Fox Newsy and very Fox 45 ish or Baltimore sun-ish at this point. And listen, if I had Brandon on, if he’s been ducking me lately, but I’ll find him, they would brag about crime being down, right, and the city being safer, and you’re involved in the city, and we would say, and the county people that are running are telling me they feel less safe in the county than they feel in the city, or residents would say that to me, because of this perception of things. What’s the reality, as you see it, of crime in our region, not just the city or the county, because there is no imaginary line that just stops where the county starts and the city begins.

Clyde Boatwright 13:46
Yeah, crime has no boundaries, and you mentioned some good names there. So, I’ve been entrusted with the last three years of being the commander for school police that oversees the summer youth engagement program along the area of Pratt Street, you know, Federal Hill, Fells Point, in the area of Key Highway, in the Science Center. So, for the last three summers, I’ve been down there running that, that, that operation, and what we did there is we use the 3e’s it’s we engage, we educate, and lastly, if need be, we enforce, and so using that model is why we see the reductions that we’ve seen in crime and violence in downtown to make you feel like you said earlier that you feel comfortable and safe walking around downtown, and that’s because of the hard work that we’ve done, and so, like, you know, it’s really clear and evident that you know crime has no boundaries. However, you know some of the things that may make people uneasy could be something as simple as a car theft, or it could be something as easy as a larceny from auto that disturbs. People’s peace, and so we just make, we need to make sure that we have an all hands on deck, to include the sheriff’s deputies, to make sure that we’re being vigilant, to make sure that our county residents feel safe, not only that they are safe, but they actually feel safe.

Nestor Aparicio 15:15
Clyde Bell Wright is our guest, he is, for the last 25 years, dedicated his life to public service. I’m reading from his website as a police officer. He is running for sheriff of Baltimore County at this point, and we’ve already discussed that we have an outgoing county sheriff for a quarter of a century in Baltimore County. It is an open seat. Your involvement in this, I would say, first day on the job, you know, like what are the first two or three things that you need to get done if you are elected Baltimore County Sheriff.

Clyde Boatwright 15:47
So, the General Assembly passed a bill, Senate Bill 544 that requires all courthouses that in the state of Maryland to have at least one deputy for each, or security officer for each courtroom, and if that courtroom, if there’s a courtroom that could have a person be taken into custody, you have to have an additional deputy, so you have to have two for each courtrooms where people either are in custody or could possibly be taken into custody, along with that, so we have to create within the first few days getting ourselves to be ready to be compliant by july 1 of 2027 so basically six months into the term, will we have to have this robust hiring of court security officers to make sure that we’re in compliance with Maryland law, and so I plan to, you know, go on a very serious recruitment push, you know, some of the other folks in the race will talk about how, you know, we can’t do any of the things that I want to do because we don’t have any people. Well, the first thing we do is we address recruitment and retention, and so, you know, contrary to what popular belief may be, people want to be police officers. It’s, it’s about how you recruit and retain the best, and so you know, Governor Moore has, you know, tasked me with the responsibility of, you know, dealing with recruitment and retention, and so being a part of that task force, I got to see what, you know, young people want to do, and I know that police recruiting, we do the wrong things, we go and ask, you know, college students who are studying to be engineers to take a job for $60,000 where they’re going to risk their lives, and so that’s why we’re counterproductive, because we’re not recruiting the right people. So we have an opportunity to have more mature people who are looking on their second career. I talk about the story of a gentleman that I met and asked him about being a police officer, and he was a delivery driver for a local soda company, and he decided to make that change, and now he’s thriving in the career field of being a police officer. Why did I pick him? Because I know that soda company was doing a delivery at a secure facility, so he’s already passed the background check. So it’s just small things like that, just identifying possible talent, and that’s going to help us build the office in the first few months.

Nestor Aparicio 18:05
Clyde Boatwright is here, he is running for Baltimore County Sheriff, and I guess just on a democracy level here to get to throw your hat into the ring here and get involved in this. I applaud any of you from the theater, Roosevelt and me to say the man in the arena, for anybody out there, you know, that’s why I began Baltimore Positives. I was going to run for office, and it seems unlikely. So, for you, with the state of the county in a general sense, as a citizen and as a resident, and talking about Baltimore County, what do you think our biggest concerns are? As just as residents, prime aside, and I know you’re focused on that, running for sheriff, but there’s a lot of issues in the county, but it’s a great place to live, I think.

8

Clyde Boatwright 18:45
Oh, yes, a great, that’s a great place. I, you know, bought my home 10 years ago here in Middle River. I love it. I love, you know, I love the city. I’m always going to be a city boy, but I love the decision that we made to raise our family here in Baltimore County. Our grandkids love it, but the biggest issue is just constituent services being available to people. I’ve been saying along the campaign trail, being visible, being accessible, and being accountable to the people. So, accountability is a big thing. You know, the fact that most people don’t know who the sheriff is is a problem in and of itself. That’s what I’m going to change. I’m going to be the face of law enforcement and be a partner with the police chief in our county, and I’m going to be a partner with the state’s attorney in this, in these, in these spaces, and just making sure that people know who I am, and you know, I’m here. I’m here for the residents of this county.

Nestor Aparicio 19:40
I appreciate the accountability. I appreciate you reaching to me, coming on, and discussing, you know, an issue I haven’t talked about a whole lot, which is Baltimore County Sheriff. It’s on the ballot june 23 One thing I always talk about is registering to vote. Make sure you’re participating in the political process and trying to make our country, our city, our county, your county, your town, your city, your district. Your council better as we’ve grown Baltimore County from seven to nine, it’s big changes in the county. So, if you are a county resident, you’re a county voter. If you’re not a county voter, shame on you. Get registered left, right, Democrat, Republican, choose wisely. But let’s make the county better. Clyde, I appreciate you coming on, Citizen Clyde, and I appreciate your service, too. It’s a very difficult thing. I didn’t think about doing is getting a gun and becoming a police officer. I, my life took me in another highway, but a lot of my friends on the East Side did that, and I have much, much respect, especially for the guys that are 30 years into this, have retired off force. I’ve got a lot of that going on at this point in my life too.

Clyde Boatwright 20:38
Well, I’ll tell you this: you saved my, you kept me sane for a long time, listening to your show, listening to Freda Birds, and all kinds of other things for many, many years. So, you know, as a sports talk radio fan, you know, for a long time, you were the only voice in the city, in this region. So, I do respect that, and I thank you for continuing to use your platform to get the message out. And thank you for having me as a guest,

Nestor Aparicio 21:04
Clyde. I’m still cranky, you know? I mean, just a little bit, but I’m hopeful. But I’m hopeful with Robert Baltimore positive. My thanks, Clyde Boat Right. You can check out his platform at Boat Right for sheriff.com You know, I did not shoot the sheriff or the deputy. I love Bob Marley song, Eric Clapton song, but I think it’s Sheriff. Also, there was a cartoon, right? Was Sheriff a cartoon? Oh, Sheriff Buford, T. Justice in right, and you know you’re gonna be a much more fair sheriff than he. Oh, absolutely. Keep the top on the car out there. All right, we’re having all sorts of candidates on for county council, city people on. Just, I’m in a general sense, I’m feeling like it’s important. And after june 23 we’ll have a general election as well. Leading up, we got a lot of things we got to change in this country, in the county, in the city, in the state, and I’m here for it. And it’s going to take people, so I appreciate that, and I appreciate everybody reaching to me and saying, hey, let me on before the election. So Nestor at Baltimore positive.com is the best way to find me. Don’t do what Clyde did or what Will Barrios did. Try to find me on some Facebook back page on the back, just send me an email, Nestor Baltimore positive.com Much like the late great Peter Angelos once said to me, I’m a very available individual. You want to find me, you reach to me anytime. All right, I’m Nestor. We are WNSTA and 1570 Towson, Baltimore. By the way, Clyde, 20th anniversary of Free the Birds coming up September. And I, you know, as I told the Orioles people, I hope I don’t need to do another one. So stay independent race. Luke will be on that net. Stay with us. We’re Baltimore positive,

Unknown Speaker 22:39
you.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai